OFF THE BOOKS
Each week, members of our Reading Society share their best recent read. Join us at theafterword.ca
I’m reading Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen, a brilliant piece of historical fiction. Edgar Allan Poe, New York, 1845, in all its scintillating horror. Patrice Allen, Vancouver
Just finished William Landay’s Defending Jacob — well written, interesting story, good plot and ending. So good I just downloaded another of his books, Mission Flats. Fran, Toronto
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot. Wonderful book. Love her writing. I am a slow reader, and this is taking a long time — hard to find time so must make more time and finish it. Nancy Wells, London, Ont.
Out of Africa by Isak Dinison. A fascinating book set on a Kenyan coffee plantation in the 1930s, in the era of White Mischief. Leslie Douglas, Toronto
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Re-read this scholarly thriller from a totally new perspective when I learned it’s based on Conan Doyle’s Hound of Baskerville! Kay Panchmatia, Toronto
Fates and Furies by Lauren Goff, an infuriating and compulsively readable story of a marriage, unique as all marriages are, yet universal in the way that all marriages are too. Bonnie Goldberg, Toronto
I am enjoying the subtle humour in Us by David Nicholls. A biochemist hopes to save his longtime marriage to his wife, an artist, by taking a family vacation. Ellen Waxman, Richmond Hill, Ont.
Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye. Follow the first detective for the NYPD as he chases down clues and criminals in 1846. Jayne Hoff, Toronto
The Night We stole The Mountie’s Car by Max Braithwaite, is about the bittersweet recollection of life on the Prairies during the Depression years. Lorraine Law, Vancouver
The Nazi Officer’s Wife by Edith Hahn Beer and Susan Dworkin. An astounding story of a Jewish girl’s marriage to an SS officer during WWII, hiding in plain sight. TobeyCrandell, Thornhill, Ont.
Fredrick Backman’s A Man Called Ove. A humorous examination of life, death, relationships and emotions. A well-written and touching first novel. Isabel Hinther, Kemptville, Ont.
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald details all that is beautiful about small-town eccentrics who learn to love a stranger. Marie Braz, Toronto