Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell, is a complete departure from my usual reading fare: thriller, whodunit, mental illness crime. Jewell offers up a perfect golden girl who suddenly goes missing at the age of 15, and the resulting fallout for her family, most particularly her mother. The novel is sketched with safe tropes and cardboard characters, known entities for lovers of this genre. Everyone is beautiful and brilliant except for the villains who are…

Seems I have spent a great deal of time reading during my knee replacement recovery, and a lot of it rather unsatisfactory. So, guess what, here comes another downer review from me, this time for Frances Itani’s Giller Finalist, Tell. I know, I know, another Giller novel. And we already know my antipathy for Gillers, which leads one to ask: Lorina, why do you keep doing this? I suppose I keep delving into Giller novels because…

It seems every time I pick up a novel associated with the Giller Prize, I am disappointed or frustrated, a response which likely has more to do with my own tastes or lack thereof, than of the literary works which garner such esteem. However, Leaving Tomorrow, by David Bergen, once again had me scratching my head. The novel is set in Alberta’s ranch country during America’s Vietnam War, and explores the spiritual and physical journey…