Adam Gopnik's third lecture considers the making of the modern Christmas, winter's holiday. He describes it as a "profoundly compound festival" and discusses its origins. It marries "not just many different pagan holidays but also the two chief kinds of festivals that exist in the world: the reversal festival and
Make no mistake: autumn is my favourite season. I know I'm not alone in that, right? But even those who share my love of it often follow up by saying that winter is coming. Quite often I just keep quiet then, but sometimes I'll admit that I don't
Marina Endicott's The Little Shadows Random House - Doubleday, 2011 Last Sunday, Marina Endicott appeared with Nicole Lundrigan, Riel Nason and Miriam Toews at a round table, moderated by the (talented) Susan G. Cole, at the 32nd annual International Festival of Authors. Sometimes in a round table session, one author
I spent a ridiculous amount of time touching this cover (and wishing the hole in the centre was actually cut) Esi Edugyan's Half-Blood Blues Thomas Allen Publishers, 2011 In the opening pages of Esi Edugyan’s second novel, readers meet Heiro, Chip, Delilah and Sid, and are immersed in
George Elliott Clarke’s Whylah Falls (1990) Raincoast Books - Polestar, 2000 George Elliott Clarke’s Whylah Falls tells the story of a group of Afro-Canadians on the south shore of Nova Scotia. Readers can gather that from a quick glance at the book’s front and back covers. But what readers won’t
