THREE CHEERS
Trio of Canadian novels will brighten your summer reading, writes Pat St. Germain.
Radiant Shimmering Light Sarah Selecky HarperCollins
A down-at-the-heels Toronto pet portraitist who sees animal auras, Lilian Quick is a social-media addict who compulsively posts multi-hashtagged photos on Instagram and constantly checks back for likes. A zealous follower of motivational gurus, her life takes a sharp turn when she reconnects with Florence, the American cousin she adored as a child. Now an internet sensation, Florence has rebranded herself as Eleven Novak, a lifestyle coach who’s made a fortune monetizing her messages of personal empowerment and introducing acolytes to consumer goods like peaceful energy-restoring cupcakes “infused with the positive intentions of meditating monks.” Invited to move to New York to work in Eleven’s “temple,” a hive of self-actualizing activity where meditation and yoga breaks are mandatory, Lilian is soon on a path to lucrative enlightenment as a member of Eleven’s patented Ascendency training program. An unlikely heroine, she rises to the occasion in this improbably absorbing tale, ultimately finding her own guiding principle: to thine own selfie be true.
Ayesha at Last Uzma Jalaluddin HarperCollins
A modern-day Pride and Prejudice set in a Toronto Muslim community, Ayesha at Last satisfies all the requirements of a cleverly entertaining romantic romp, with shades of mystery tossed in for good measure. There’s maternal scheming to arrange advantageous marriages, a feisty heroine and a misunderstood suitor, supporting characters whose villainy and vanity complicate the plot, and a pair of family elders whose wisdom and well-timed meddling help pave the way for a bit of the old happy-ever-after. A poet at heart, Ayesha is a frustrated substitute teacher who falls for a devout stick-in-the-mud who thinks his controlling mother knows best when it comes to matchmaking. When he and the local imam mistake Ayesha for her vapid teenage cousin, she plays along, setting in motion a tragicomedy of errors, but as Jane Austen said, “If things go untowardly one month, they are sure to mend the next.”
The Life Lucy Knew Karma Brown HarperCollins
After a slip on an icy sidewalk results in a serious head injury, Lucy wakes up from a coma with a case of false memory syndrome, a condition that’s slightly more complicated than amnesia. Not only has she forgotten that she has a live-in boyfriend, but she has vivid memories of having married her ex-fiancé, Daniel. While her recollection of the wedding and four years of marriage is false, her heartbreak at discovering he’s married to someone else feels very real. Lucy’s go-to emotional responses too often resemble the vapours — she’s forever struggling to catch her breath, and she bursts into tears at the drop of a toque. But, such minor annoyances aside, her recovery process is tailormade for light summer reading.