16 reads for summer weekends

Keep ennui at bay with must-read books coming out this season

If you’re all caught up on the books that came out this spring, there is a slew of new reads coming out this summer that are deserving of attention. We’ve chosen one for every weekend — with a couple extra ’cause you’ll need them for vacation. Plus, we’ve identified special extras that could keep summer ennui at bay for days.

Out now

“Kudos,” Rachel Cusk (Harper): Rapturous reviews follow pretty much every book Cusk writes, and this one is no different. It’s the third in the trilogy featuring Faye in a series of encounters with people in a plotless narrative. In this new book, Faye’s own opinions surface more and more.

“Mama’s Boy,” David Goudreault, JC Sutcliffe, translator (book* hug): This book took Quebec by storm, winning the 2016 Grand Prix littéraire Archambault. Now English readers, too, can be regaled by the gritty humour in this family drama about a young man who sets out in search of his mother after a childhood spent shuffling from one foster home to another.

“The Showrunner,” Kim Moritsugu (Dundurn): Rising star Stacey McCreedy wants to become a power player. Right now, she’s in the middle of a power struggle with her former TV producer mentor. When a new assistant comes on the scene the blood feud really begins.

“The Life Lucy Knew,” Karma Brown (Park Row/ Harper): Karma Brown is known for writing readable books with thoughtful themes that touch on our lives. In this one, Lucy bangs her head in a fall. When she wakes up from her coma, the life she remembers as hers doesn’t match the reality. An exploration of family, relationships and choosing the life you want to live. Karma Brown lives just outside Toronto. “Oscar,” Mauricio Segura, Don Winkler, translator (Biblioasis): Set in Depression-era Montreal, it’s the story of two brothers felled by the White Plague: Oscar, who recovers, and Brad, who succumbs. It evokes the cabarets of the 1950s, Oscar’s relationship with the Caribbean diaspora and pays homage to the musical great. “The Ward Uncovered,” Holly Martelle, Michael McClelland, Tatum Taylor and John Lorinc (Coach House): A couple of years ago Coach House put out a book called “The Ward,” filled with essays about a now disappeared area of Toronto that, for more than a century, was the first home for most people who emigrated here. This book gives us more insight to the area following on a recent archaelogical dig on Armoury Street in what was a parking lot beside City Hall and will be our new Court House, and looks at the artifacts found (many of them from the privies out back) and the stories they tell.

July

“Her Pretty Face,” Robyn Harding (gallery/scout) (Simon and Schuster): This one might be the thriller of the summer. Dubbed a “domestic drama, “Vancouverite Harding’s created Frances Metcalf, a mom with a troubled son who just wants to fit in with the other parents. A scandal prevents that, but does lead to a friendship with the mysterious Kate Randolph, who also dislikes the other moms. The twist? One of these two might just be a murderer. “From The Corner of the

Oval,” Beck Dorey Stein (Random House): A memoir for the political junkie and the gossip junkie all in one. Stein was a stenographer to U.S. president Barack Obama and flew around the world on Air Force One with the media pack. She calls the experience “like summer camp on steroids.” If you still haven’t had enough political intrigue you could follow this up with former president Bill Clinton and writer James Patterson’s collaborative thriller “The President is Missing.” Lots of fun.

“My Name is a Knife,” Alix Hawley (Vintage): You might not picture yourself a Daniel Boone fan — you know, the frontiersman during the American Revolutionary War who went down in legend — but B.C. author Alix Hawley’s compelling new book is historical fiction with an edge. You can also go back and read Hawley’s first Boone book “All True Not a Lie In It,” which was a multiple award winner. “Immigrant, Montana,” Amitava Kumar (Hamish Hamilton): Indian immigrant Kailash arrives in New York in 1990 to attend graduate school. Using anecdotes, annotations, pictures and text to tell a well observed and moving story of a young immigrant in search of himself. This is the highly anticipated second novel by Kumar, following his first “Nobody Does the Right Thing.”

August

“Foe,” Iain Reid (Simon and Schuster): This is the second thriller by Ontario writer Reid, following up on his bestselling “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.” This time, a married couple living a quiet life on their farm are surprised by a visitor from the city who offers Junior a trip far away. Hen is left alone — or is she? “Starlight,” Richard Wagamese (McClelland and Stewart): The final book from this beloved Indigenous storyteller — he died March 2017 and was still working on this one. Frank Starlight takes in an abused woman named Emmy and her daughter. Wagamese tells a difficult story with incredible beauty. “Women Talking,” Miriam Toews (Knopf ): This is one we’re very excited about. Eight women (grandmothers, mothers, teenagers),

over two days, make a life-changing decision that will affect all the women in the Mennonite colony. The book is the spellbinding, sometimes difficult, conversation between them over those two days. “The Saturday Night Ghost

Club,” Craig Davidson (Knopf ): Davidson takes us back to the area of his Gillernominated book “Cataract City,” which took place in and around Niagara Falls. Here, neurosurgeon Jake delves back into macabre urban myths, and the nature of memory. Davidson also writes horror under the name Nick Cutter so if you want something even darker, you might want to check out “Little Heaven” and “The Troop.” “Heart breaker, ”Claudia Dey (Harper Avenue): This book hooks you right from the start with Dey’s quirky voice and humour. Narrator heroine Pony Darlene Fontaine constructs her odd northern world for us as we go along with her on the search for her mother who disappears one cold October night. Dey is a playwright and was nominated for the Goveror General’s Award and the Trillium Book Award for the Gwendolyn Poems. “French Exit,” Patrick Dewitt (Anansi): A parody of highsociety is the unlikely topic of Dewitt’s newest book. With his now trademark quirky, witty perspective. The movie, based on his Giller-prize nominated novel, “The Sisters Brothers,” is out in October. You could get through his “Ablutions” and “Under major domo Minor” to make yourself a real Dewitt expert.