Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden

I borrowed this book from the library on the basis that it won the Giller Prize, having read all of last year's nominees which, although weren't all necessarily my type of book, were all very well-written, good reads (and last year's Giller Prize winner made it into the ranks of my all-time favourite books.) This year's winner did not disappoint and was engaging from page one.

Set in Moosonee, far in northern Ontario near James Bay, the story alternates between an old Cree bush pilot and his niece, jumping from past to present to follow their paths to the current circumstances. Mixed in is a lot of story about life in this small town far north in Ontario, I enjoyed the descriptions of hunting, fishing, and trapping and the beauty and isolation of the surrounding wilderness. The story revolves around an old rivalry between two families in the town and the two main characters, Will Bird who battles with the sorrows of his past and tries to protect his loved ones, and his niece Annie Bird who goes south to search for her disappeared sister and for her own identity. It's beautifully written and a pleasure to read and the characters are well-developed and engaging. I enjoyed it so much that I am going to reserve all of this authour's other books for future reading! Read it!

Obasan - Joy Kogawa

I picked this book up from the used book store, the guy working there thought I was buying for school because it is a popular book used in Canadian schools so it's easily already been read. It's a short novel and an easy read. The story is about a Japanese Canadian family and their experiences in Canada during the second world war. The story is told from the point of view of the daughter and weaves through present and past experiences to explore the story of the family I believe it is historically accurate as well. One thing I really liked about this book was the style of writing, in so many ways it feels like poetry. The way she describes things is beautiful, this is a sentence that I loved as soon as I read it:

"The laughter in my arms is quiet as the moon, quiet as snow falling, quiet as the white light from the from the stars." (p 170)

Anyways, the book is a nice read. If you are interested let me know and I'll mail it to you.