By Gail Picco (July 26, 2021) Likeness: Fathers, sons, a portrait, David Macfarlane, Doubleday Canada, May 18, 2021, 240 pp., $29.95 In Likeness, an achingly sad and sometimes hilarious memoir, David Macfarlane uses a portrait of himself created by preeminent Canadian painter John Hartman as a vehicle to access his memory. The painting is part of a project by … [Read more...] about Likeness by David Macfarlane: A father’s thoughts of a future without his son
On Time and Water by Andri Snær Magnason made me feel better about climate, ‘if such a thing is possible’
By Kathleen Adamson (July 20, 2021) On Time and Water, Andri Snær Magnason, Biblioasis, March 30, 2021, 240 pp., $24.70 According to Andri Snær Magnason, we need stories. In his excellent book On Time and Water, the award-winning Icelandic fiction author turns his hand to a nonfiction climate change narrative, braiding family memories with scientific reporting and … [Read more...] about On Time and Water by Andri Snær Magnason made me feel better about climate, ‘if such a thing is possible’
Marcus Aurelius: No abstracted ponderer
By Kathleen Adamson (July 8, 2021) Meditations: The Annotated Edition, by Marcus Aurelius, Edited by Robin Waterfield, Basic Books, April 16, 2021, 384 pp., $32.37 The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome from 161-180CE, make up one of the most popular and enduring works of philosophy of all time, although they were never intended for public … [Read more...] about Marcus Aurelius: No abstracted ponderer
Information, the Book: Editors’ efforts have borne excellent fruit
By Kathleen Adamson, June 28, 2021 Information: A Historical Companion, Edited by Ann Blair, Paul Duguid, Anja-Silvia Goeing, and Anthony Grafton, Princeton University Press, January 26, 2021, 904 pp., $66.45 We live in a sea of information, but it surrounds us so completely that the word ‘information’ itself is difficult to define. Nowadays we might say … [Read more...] about Information, the Book: Editors’ efforts have borne excellent fruit
Sylvia Olsen Unravelling Canada: Pulling at the stitches of Canadian history
By Gail Picco June 22, 2021 Unravelling Canada: A Knitting Odyssey, Sylvia Olsen, Douglas & McIntyre, April 17, 2021, 256 pp., $24.70 (June 22, 2021) Canadian poet Lorna Crozier said of Unravelling Canada by Sylvia Olsen that “This book knits us together, not only with strands of wool but with compassion, intelligence, caring and storytelling of the most appealing … [Read more...] about Sylvia Olsen Unravelling Canada: Pulling at the stitches of Canadian history