T.O. fantasy novel a fable for opioid era

Imagine downtown Toronto transformed into a fairytale world where streets contract at will and charmless laneways contain portals into magic underworlds. Now picture a tiny bookshop hidden on a side street in Kensington Market, crammed with books that glow. You’ll get a feel for the kind of shapeshifting landscape Lauren B. Davis conjures in her latest novel, The Grimoire of Kensington Market.

Maggie is a recovering addict, one of the few surviving “pipers” ravaged by the mind-altering drug elysium. Her brother Kyle is less fortunate. He’s in thrall to Srebrenka, the evil ice queen who controls the drug trade. When the bookshop’s owner Maggie receives a call for help from her missing brother, she must make an agonizing decision. Should she descend through the dark underworld to confront Srebrenka and rescue Kyle, even at the risk of sliding back into the grips of elysium herself?

It’s the sort of dark fairytale inspired by Hans Christian Andersen. We meet a crone named Mother Ratigan, cloaked ravens, and castaway thievesin a decrepit manor. Maggie has only a few magical aids at her disposal. By relying on wisdom and intuition, her quest is a deeply moral tale. She is forced to name and confront her past, unpacking her childhood backstory of trauma and neglect. Davis does a fine job balancing these fraught moments with lighterscenes.

Beneath the fairytale lies a probing exploration of the opioid crisis. Davis highlights how the collapse of social supports and marginalization of addicts creates the perfect storm, hollowing out innercity Toronto and leaving wounded orphans and ruined lives in its wake.

When Maggie finally confronts Srebrenka, the author spins the kinds of pyrotechnics appropriate to the climax of such a dramatic quest. Maggie is a likeable and familiar character, but it’s Davis’ deft handling of the ravages of addiction that makes The Grimoire of Kensington Market such a timely and important read.