Summer Reads Revue

While there’s no shortage of fun stuff to do in Montreal come summertime, it’s also a great opportunity to kick back and relax with a good book. So here’s a few recent and upcoming releases to look for when the clock strikes hammock o’clock.

While there’s no shortage of fun stuff to do in Montreal come summertime, it’s also a great opportunity to kick back and relax with a good book. So here’s a few recent and upcoming releases to look for when the clock strikes hammock o’clock.

Recent Releases
Toronto writer Sheila Heti’s acclaimed first novel How Should a Person Be? (House of Anansi, paperback $18.95, 320 pgs) finally came out in paperback this June, and if you haven’t read it yet, you should snap up this funny, sincere and poignant mish-mash of fiction and real life. Protagonist Sheila, a not-even-trying-to-hide-it semi-fictionalized version of the author, strives to rediscover love and creativity after a failed marriage leaves her feeling devoid of both, and the book profiles her titular quest, while offering the audience clues on how they might themselves strive to become better people.

If you fancy something a little farther from reality, Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins (Harper, paperback $19.99, 352 pgs) unrolls over fifty years in a series of exotic European settings, with a cast of characters studded with movie stars and other romantic historical figures (actor and Liz Taylor’s 2x ex-husband Richard Burton features prominently). It’s a great escape into a dreamy world of continental glamour, love and loss.

A little closer to home is American novelist Richard Ford’s latest, Canada (HarperCollins, hardcover $29.99, 432 pgs), a dark tale of protagonist Dell Parsons’ sudden immersion into a world of violence and criminality, and his struggle to deal with this as he hides out in rural Saskatchewan. Ford’s lyrical prose gives shape to the heavy emotions he relates, making it a compelling read.

Finally, Giller Prize-winning Toronto writer Vincent Lam’s latest, The Headmaster’s Wager (Doubleday, $32.95 hardcover, 400 pgs) takes place against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. It chronicles the evolution of Percival Chen, the headmaster of an elite Saigon English school and a relentless boozehound, gambler and skirt chaser. The hedonistic schoolmaster must come to terms with the reality of the war around him as the Tet Offensive kicks into gear and his own son is in danger.

Upcoming
The latest rendition of comic artist Seth’s semi-annual Palookaville series hits the stores this August. In Palookaville #21 (Drawn & Quarterly, hardcover $19.95, 88 pgs), fans will recognize Seth’s distinctive comic strip and rubber stamp comic diary, and this issue also features a loving tribute to Canadian comics giant Jacques Gagnier.

Ryan Holiday’s Trust Me I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator (Portfolio, hardcover $28.50, 288 pgs) draws back the curtain on journalism’s seamy underworld, where bloggers and writers accept bribes to expose political scandals or instantly create viral-seeming coverage of celebrities and products.

Chick-lit aficionados can look forward to bestseller Emily Giffin’s latest, Where We Belong (St. Martin’s Press, hardcover $29.99, 384 pgs). A successful TV producer is shaken when a dark secret emerges from her past, in the form of an 18-year old girl named Kirby. Haven’t read it yet, but I’d wager Kirby’s the publisher’s daughter, and after a series of hijinks, misunderstandings and emotional bonding moments they end up thick as thieves and better people for having known each other. There, I just saved you like six hours.

Finally, Jeannette Winterson’s latest book drops this summer in paperback form, called Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? (Vintage Canada, paperback $19.95, 240 pages). It’s a memoir about the publication of her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and the process of her coming out to a not-exactly sympathetic audience. A timely recollection, and a kind of oblique contribution to the It Gets Better campaign. ■

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