Ape House

by Sara Gruen ~ Random House

  ~ Review: Halifax Herald, December 2010

The Great Ape Trust in Des Moines, Iowa, studies “language acquisition and cognition in great apes.”  Much of their work is with bonobos, a little known, highly intelligent and peaceful cousin to the chimpanzee.  During her research for Ape House, Sara Gruen managed to wangle an invitation to visit the Trust.  She was introduced to the bonobos  and she was hooked.  Her author’s note tells us that “most of the conversations between the bonobos and humans in (Ape House) are based on actual conversations with great apes”.

Ape House explores the implications of communications between humans and a species we recognize as highly intelligent but continue to keep imprisoned. 

The story follows Isabel Duncan, a scientist whom the bonobos at the Great Ape Language Lab in Kansas City consider family, and John Thigpen, a journalist who is sent to Kansas to find a story. But  Isabel is badly hurt when terrorists bomb the lab and kidnap the bonobos, and they become front page news overnight.  Even after they are recovered, the university moves quickly to stay away from controversy and sell the bonobos. An under-the -table deal is struck and the bonobos vanish.  Isabel is frantic to find them.

Ape House is a fascinating look at the culture of bonobos, and at their astonishing ability to communicate.  But it goes much further, looking at the boundaries of ethical research and the treatment of imprisoned animals as well as the implications of imprisoning animals who can learn to communicate with humans.

Sara Gruen was born in Vancouver.  She is the author of Water for Elephants which became an international best seller.  Ape House is her fourth novel.

Noah’s Turn

by Ken Finkleman ~ Harper Collins

 ~ Review: Halifax Herald, November 2010

Noah is a screenwriter, or was one, until he was laid off.  He wasn’t surprised.  He was less than passionate about the show and felt being a screenwriter was beneath his talents. But when his money pressures escalate, he takes to visiting his wealthy (and dying) aunt in the hopes of weaseling his way into her will.  But “he knew the rich didn’t get rich by giving it away ... and deep in his heart, he anticipated the worst.”  It came!

Enter Patrick McEwen, arrogant, condescending and successful, a published writer who teaches at U of T.  For Noah, their friendship is a love/hate relationship.  His envy of McEwen is of the green monster variety.  When McEwen is gloating about the launch of his latest novel, something inside Noah snaps.  He grabs a machete from the wall of McEwen’s office and kills him (a fact which is on the back cover of the book). The inexplicable murder makes huge headlines, and contrary to Noah’s run of luck, he doesn’t get caught.

The second half of Noah’s Turn tracks Noah as he takes all precautions to avoid detection. He realizes there is a good chance he’ll get away with it if he keeps on going ‘as normal’ but finds he cannot. He spirals downward into booze and drugs and debt.

There are problems with Noah’s ‘post-murder’ persona.  Until his nasty crime, Noah’s demeanor has been cynical and witty, creating a grudging sympathy for the state of his life.  But understanding a jealous and cynical mind is perhaps easier than understanding a murderer’s

rationalizing, and as Noah descends into addiction, his character lacks the edginess that entertained in the first half of the novel. In spite of this, Noah manages to continue to extract a certain sympathy from the reader, right to the ending you probably won’t see coming.  Finkleman has written a compelling debut novel.

Ken Finkleman is a writer, producer and actor for both television and movies.  He is created, produced and wrote the popular CBC Television series, The Newsroom.  Noah’s Turn is his first novel.

The Forty Rules of Love

by Elif Shafak ~ Viking

  ~ Review: Halifax Herald, November 2010

Ella Rubenstein leads a middle class life in middle class America.  Her days are defined by the needs and demands of her unfaithful husband, their three children and even by her dog.  Looking for greater fulfillment, she becomes a reader for a publishing company and her first assignment is to assess a manuscript by the mysterious Aziz Zahara.

Elif Shafak’s latest book, The Forty Rules of Love, draws her readers into the lives of Shams of Tabriz, a wandering Sufi Dervish, and Mawlana Jalal ad-Din, also known as Rumi. Shams is sent by his order to Konya in Turkey to be a companion to the young Rumi, who is already a revered leader and scholar but dissatisfied with his spiritual progress.

The Forty Rules of Love moves back and forth in time, shifting from the gently unfolding affection between Ella and Aziz to the 13^th century Persia of Zahara’s manuscript.  Shafak weaves her forty rules through these modern and ancient narratives, via emails, tales, parables and through the conversations and stories of the book’s many narrators.

These varied stories chronicle the deepening spiritual connection between Shams and Rumi.

It is a complicated literary structure, but Shafak holds her threads expertly as she lays out the inclusive and tolerant principles of Sufism as they relate to the popular culture of the times, in both the 13^th and 21^st centuries. The Forty Rules of Love speaks directly to the heart.

Elif Shafak is an award-winning novelist and one of the most widely read writers in Turkey.  She writes her books in both Turkish and English, and they have been translated into more than 40 languages.  She lives in Istanbul.

Great Multicultural North

by Ernesto (Ernie) Raj Peshkov-Chow

Red Publishing/Fernwood Publishing

  ~ Review: Halifax Herald, November 2010

This is a book,” says the opening lines of Great Multicultural North, “for anyone who has ever pondered what it means to be Canadian.”  Read on.  It is clear that Ernesto (Ernie) Raj Peshkov-Chow (who will henceforth be referred to as ‘Ernie’) has pondered this question long and hard.

Ernie doesn’t beat about the bush. “What is a Canadian?” he asks in Chapter 1, which has a good news/bad news answer.  Apparently the definition of Canadian continues to evolve and we haven’t yet chiseled out the final wording. The good news is that because no one really knows, we all sort of slide in under the radar and can call ourselves Canadian with impunity.

Great Multicultural North is a small, readable, informative primer about “how the Canadian circle can accommodate all those who choose to live within it.” It tackles serious questions about immigrants and immigration policy with humour and wit. It is funny and hugely entertaining, packed with interesting facts and statistics, probably drawn from the long census form!  Did you know that Canada produces more comedians that any other country?  Or that almost 20% of all Canadians were born outside the country, second only to Australia? 

Ultimately, Great Multicultural North is hopeful about the evolution of Canadians and multiculturalism.  Living together in harmony and peace is our ultimate goal, says Ernie. We all “belong to overlapping concentric circles of communities.” What we still lack is “a sense of community as a common humanity, or as a living thing, or as a part of the planet, or as an integral part of the universe. We need to expand our circle ... Canada could be the first place to make it happen.”

Ernesto (Ernie) Raj Peshkov-Chow is a multi-generational Canadian, whose favourite pets are peeves, who believes the Maple Leafs are holding back on greatness and who firmly believes in a new order of Canadian nationalism. He is also an author and a journalist.

I Love Your Laugh: Finding the Light in my Screwball Life

by Jessica Holmes

McClelland & Stewart

  ~ Review in Halifax Herald, October 2010

Jessica Holmes has a ‘Laughter’ button on her website.  Who could ignore that?  After all, everyone needs a good laugh. But a click brought a surprise. Holmes did some research a while ago on the “importance of laughter, and its benefits on our health, mood, longevity, etc.”  Apparently we don’t laugh enough.  Who knew!!! We don’t even talk together enough and Holmes thinks we can do better, that “we could all benefit from a big group belly laugh.”  It’s hard to disagree with that, and following that trajectory, Holmes’s new book, I Love Your Laugh, must surely be beneficial to our health.

Holmes’s memoir recounts her life so far.  She was raised in a less than traditional household and the vastly differing beliefs of her parents - fundamentalist vs. feminist - meant there was some confusion to be sorted. Holmes regales her readers with stories and anecdotes that do more than entertain.  They cause lots of smiles and laughter. 

Holmes was the family comic from the beginning, translating events into the comedic, working hard for the funny side of things. But even a comedienne has downtime and Holmes is not afraid to write about the not so funny parts of her life experiences.  Being relentlessly funny is not easy apparently, and occasionally Holmes had to work hard to extract humor from situations.  “I couldn’t remember the last time I’d really laughed. My optimism had disappeared somewhere along the way, and I was living protectively, hanging on to anything I could, afraid of what life would take from me next.” 

But she does keep laughing and making fun of what life throws at her because this is how she views the world and according to her Laughter theory, we’re all healthier for it!

Jessica Holmes is a member of Air Farce Live (aka The Royal Canadian Air Farce) and star of The Holmes Show.  She is also a screenwriter and a mom.  This is her first book.

Bride’s Farewell

by Meg Rosoff

Random House

  ~ Review in Halifax Herald, October 2010

The day before her wedding, Pell suddenly sees the life of drudgery and dreariness that will be her future.  Poverty in 18^th century working class England is not kind to women and Pell sees the broken spirit of her mother clearly.  Her own spirit rebels and she flees in the night, taking Jack, her horse, and at the last minute her little brother who refuses to be left behind.  Her only plan is to head for the Salisbury Horse Fair, where she is sure she can make some money.

Pell has an unusual talent - an intuitive understanding of horses, akin to a ‘whisperer’.  It is this talent that catches the eye of a horse buyer.  They strike a deal, but the buyer swindles Pell of the promised money. Her brother and Jack become lost in the chaos after the fair and Pell is left with nothing. Her travels take a more desperate turn as she embarks on a search to recover those things most precious to her, and her money.

The Bride’s Farewell is a romantic adventure. Pell is a feisty heroine who would have held her own beside Nellie McClung or Emily Stowe, had time and circumstance allowed.  Rosoff’s writing is wonderfully visual, conjuring the reality of poor houses and the lives of the working class poor.  “... by the time Pell turned ten she and Lou had an expertise in stretching ends past straining point in an every-hopeful and ever-futile attempt to make them meet.” 

At the same time, Rosoff infuses her novel with love and laughter, in spite of the bleakness of everyday life.  From beginning to end is a flow of horses, as they are bought and sold, worked, ridden and loved.  Horses were an integral and essential part of eighteenth century life and Rosoff perfectly captures the magnificence of these creatures she so obviously loves.  And it is Rosoff’s beautiful imagery that leave her readers holding their breath, hoping the movie will come soon. 

Meg Rosoff has written three previous novels and is the winner of the Carnegie Medal for her novel Just in Case.  She lives in London, England.

Waiting for Joe

by Sandra Birdsell

Random House

  ~ Review in Halifax Herald, October 2010

Joe owns what has been a successful motor home business.  He sells RV’s and generally makes a good living for himself and his wife, Laurie.

Laurie, on the other hand, spends money faster than Joe can make it. Their lines of communication are stretched tautly as credit cards get rejected and bank accounts depleted.

The day finally comes when it’s all gone. Their house, their possessions and their self worth are sold, at a yard sale, to the bank. Joe and Laurie find themselves living in a stolen RV in a Walmart parking lot.

One morning, Joe leaves for the day and Laurie’s “premonition she had in Clara’s boutique was real.  Joe was gone.” Laurie finds herself alone, without money and very much without the continued support of the Walmart staff, whose initial kindness is stretched as they realize the RV squatters could become less than temporary.

Joe and Laurie both reach a pivotal moment in their separate lives, about the same time as the novel itself. Waiting for Joe takes time to ease into the story. It follows the parallel lives of Laurie, Joe and Alfred, Joe’s father who lives in a Winnipeg nursing home remembering the past and clinging to his elusive present.  Waiting for Joe is as much about Joe’s crisis of confidence as it is about Laurie struggling to find the strength within herself to go on alone.  Her successes are small, but cheer-worthy as she takes baby steps on a new path, finding strength and assistance in unlikely places.  “The goodwill embodied in a prayer goes somewhere, and like a moth, finds a source of light.”

Sandra Birdsell grew up in a large family in Winnipeg.  Her short stories and novels have garnered several awards, including the prestigious  Marion Engel Award.  She now gardens and writes in Saskatchewan.

Burmese Lessons: A Love Story

by Karen Connelly

Vintage Canada

  ~ Review in Halifax Herald, September 2010

“Nostalgia is a Greek word.  A pain for the sweetness of home” and for Karen Connelly, home is where the heart is. She is a traveler, and when she went to Burma in the mid-nineties as a young journalist, her intention was to observe, to watch and wait, and to gather information. She was idealistic, obsessed with a desire to absorb the culture and language.

She soon moved into circles which brought her in contact with members of the resistance. And among them she found Maung, a young, charismatic leader of the resistance - or rather, he found her.  His magnetism was irresistible.  She fell deeply in love - with Maung, with Burma and with the Burmese people.  But this is an occupied country and these are not frivolous times.  “San Aung wants me to learn serious words ... death and freedom.  Democracy, cruel, trust, don’t trust … I lament the loss of my innocence.”

Burmese Lessons is part memoir, a sometimes travelogue and an extraordinary love story.

Connelly’s writing is sensual and dramatic, and the tastes and flavours of a country teetering on the edge of disaster juxtaposed against the gentle Buddhist culture linger long after her words are read and the book is closed. Her deep compassion for the Burmese people as they endure hardship beyond comprehension infuses her words, but it is her developing love for the charismatic Maung which finally causes her to confront the hard questions about herself, her future and the role she is plays in Burma. In every sense of the word, Burmese Lessons is a love story. 

Karen Connelly writes fiction, nonfiction and poetry.  Her first novel, The Lizard Cage, won Britain’s Orange Broadband Prize for New Fiction in 2005 and her non-fiction book Touch the Dragon, won the Governor General's Award in l994.  She divides her time between  Greece and Toronto.

The High Road

by Terry Fallis

McClelland & Stewart

  ~ Review in Halifax Herald, September 2010

There are those among us who are not particularly fond of politics, and who certainly don’t find the antics on the Hill amusing.  But even if you are counted among this group of Canadians and you really don’t love politics, or even like them, The High Road will entertain.  It might be against your better judgment, it might be in spite of great resistance, but you will succumb.  The High Road will surely make you laugh.

And if you do love politics, you’re in for a treat.  There will be snickers, occasional snorting and hooting, and almost certainly rip-roaring belly laughs.  Terry Fallis has understood how things work up there on the Hill (fictionally of course), or if that’s not really how things are done (dare we hope not), he is very convincing.

His new novel continues the shenanigans of characters from his first book, The Best Laid Plans.  The economy is failing, the three political parties are fighting, the minority government is shaky and things are looking grim.  But the Liberal’s have a secret weapon. They have Angus McLintock, the curmudgeonly and peevish Scot who manages to topple the teetering parliament with his deciding vote. His hapless aide, Daniel Addison, fiercely (and unsuccessfully) resists the call to be deeply involved in yet another election and together they trudge the well worn campaign trail one more time.  When Daniel finds out that his candidate has been arrested 23 (that’s twenty-three!) times, all “perfectly legitimate arrests”, he becomes a very fast peddling spin doctor as well.

The campaign trail proves to be a journey of mayhem, barely averted disasters and some very nasty campaign strategies. “Brainwashed by the writings of his ultra-feminist wife, Angus McLintock has a secret extremist feminist agenda ready to rip apart Canada’s social fabric.  He actually wants housewives to be paid for baking cookies and vacuuming… (and) you ain’t seen nothing yet.” But it’s all in good fun – and fiction!

What has made Terry Fallis so unusual in the publishing world is his marketing strategy.  Unable to find a publisher for his first book, The Best Laid Plans, he published it as a podcast, one chapter at a time, in order to ‘test the waters’ of public reaction.  People liked it!  He then gave up on the publishing world and did it himself.  It won the 2008 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and was promptly picked up by McClelland & Stewart.  This strategy was so successful that M&S was persuaded to repeat it, and for the first time, they have released a book in serialized podcast format.  Times are definitely changing.

Terry Fallis was drawn to politics at an early age, and has worked for Cabinet Ministers both at Queen’s Park and in Ottawa. He lives in Toronto.

Mandela’s Way: Fifteen Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage

by Richard Stengel

Crown Publishers

  ~ Review in Halifax Herald, August 2010

When Richard Stengel collaborated on Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, The Long Walk to Freedom, he spent three years traveling with Nelson Mandela, gathering and distilling information from countless hours of interviews and conversations.  He was present at some astonishing moments as the new South Africa began to shake off the years of apartheid.  But in his new book, Mandela’s Way, Stengel gives us Nelson Mandela himself, the man who has appeared to the world as larger than life.

These fifteen lessons are Mandela’s wisdom, the thinking and philosophies of an extraordinary man who, when faced with tremendous hardship, refused to let his humanity and spirit be co-opted.  He was a strategic man, a gardener, someone who thought carefully before deciding on a course of action. “Most of the mistakes he made in his life came from acting too hastily rather than too slowly. Don’t hurry, he would say; think, analyze, then act.”

At his trial where Mandela faced a possible death penalty, he ended his testimony by saying “. . . I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunity. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

The back cover of this book categorizes Mandela’s Way as a “Self Help - Personal Growth” book - a puzzling and somewhat glib label to apply to a book which outlines the personal philosophy of a great statesman, a man who calls the world’s inhabitants family. Mandela’s Way is part history, part philosophy, part storytelling and always inspiring. Nelson Mandela has much to teach us and some of us have much to learn. However, Mandela’s Way doesn’t preach, or advocate that we change to suit a model. That is not his way.  This book simply tells us of how an ordinary man became extraordinary, a lover of people and of life, and it does so in simple direct language which contains the lessons if we want them.

In Richard Stengel’s words: “Many times, I had to ask myself ‘What would Nelson Mandela do?’  …  It always made me, at least in those moments, a better person - calmer, more rational, more generous.”

Richard Stengel is the editor of Time magazine, author and documentary film maker. He collaborated with Nelson Mandela on Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom.