Literary

Carry Me DownMJ HylandHarperCollinsMJ Hyland’s shortlisted Booker Prize novel avoids being shelved in the overpopulated “poor, poor Irish family” category, thanks to its narrator. Set in 1970s rural Ireland, 11-year-old John Egan has a special problem: He almost tips six-feet-tall, which upsets his mother terribly and results in many concerned trips to the doctor and […]

Pride of BaghdadBrian K. VaughanDC/VertigoWriter Brian K. Vaughan is a fan favourite, and his ongoing West Wing-with-superhero story Ex Machina has been making these kinds of lists since its debut a couple of years ago. This hardcover original with art from Nino Henrichon takes its inspiration from actual events: In April 2003, a pride of […]

The Forty NinersAlan Moore and Gene HaAmerica’s Best ComicsThe long-awaited prequel to Alan Moore (Watchmen, From Hell), Gene Ha and Zander Cannon’s hit superhero-cop drama Top Ten. From the perspective of new arrival Jetlad (Top Ten’s Captain Traynor), we see the formative years of Neopolis, the city inhabited entirely by super-powered beings. Ha handled the […]

De Niro’s GameRawi HageAnansiBefore the Giller Prize announcement, a lot of hullabaloo was made out of the fact that this shortlisted book and the prizewinner, Vincent Lam’s Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, were riddled with copyediting errors. Usually that’s enough for me to put a book down, but De Niro’s Game was such a compelling read, […]

Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite SadnessBryan Lee O’MalleyOni PressSomewhere near Mount Uniacke, Bryan Lee O’Malley is constructing the ongoing tale of the titular 23-year-old Toronto musician and his complicated love life, mashing manga-influenced art with indie rock, pop cults, video games and destroying Hogtown landmarks—good-byeeee Honest Ed’s, you monolithic eyesore—with glee. Though Scott is supposed […]

WE3Grant Morrison and Frank QuitelyDC/VertigoGrant Morrison has written some of the most challenging mainstream comics since he hit the scene in the late 1980s with Animal Man. While WE3 is no less challenging, it may be his most sentimental. Quitely’s fine line-art has enhanced many a Morrison script (New X-Men, JLA: Earth 2, ALL-Star Superman). […]

GargoylesBill GastonAnansiSome people believe that short stories don’t have enough meat. Well, pull up to the buffet and fill up on Bill Gaston’s Gargoyles—some of the best short stories I’ve read in years. As Gaston wrote each of these gems, mostly centered on the subtle undercurrents of family relationships, he sketched out a gargoyle, perhaps […]

Wimbledon Green: The Greatest Comic Book Collector in the WorldSethDrawn & QuarterlyWimbledon Green takes what should have been a throwaway gag and turns it into a comic-strip mockumentary. It is a credit to Seth’s (Clyde Fans, It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken) skill as a cartoonist that this works so well. Told as […]

I like you: Hospitality Under the InfluenceAmy SedarisWarner BooksIf you’ve ever wondered what a cold-cut meat cake would look like, look no further. Best known as Strangers with Candy boozer, user and loser Jerri Blank, in real life, Amy Sedaris also sells cheeseballs and cupcakes. Really. Now you can too. Chock full of legit recipes, […]

Extremely Loud and Incredibly CloseJonathan Safran FoerJonathan Safran Foer is one of those tricky new writers (he was born in 1977) whose work sometimes appears to be more clever than smart. But in this case, it’s both, plus a whole lot more. While I grudgingly enjoyed his first book, Everything is Illuminated, Extremely Loud and […]

I Still Love You Daniel MacIvorPlaywrights Canada PressWinner of the 2006 Governor General’s literary award for drama, I Still Love You is a collection of five of Daniel MacIvor’s best plays, covering a 15-year span from 1991 to 2006, all produced through his acclaimed and soon-to-be deceased theatre company, da da camera. In many ways […]

The Disappointment ArtistJonathan LethemIt’s hard for me to feel that I’ve said enough good stuff about Jonathan Lethem. If you haven’t read any of his novels, you should get on that. No, go, it’s okay, I’ll wait. Perhaps you prefer non-fiction, in which case, do yourself a favour and pick up The Disappointment Artist. It’s […]