Pick up a couple of terrific novels from local writers for gifts—or for yourself

Atlantic Canada is blessed with a largesse of brilliant authors writing in all genres. Sometimes, the biggest challenge in doing reviews is whittling down a list to a few special novels, and how do we pick those? One thing I’ve learned for sure is that there’s never enough time to read all of the books I want, as my physical bookcases and iPad Kobo account will attest. Still, we offer up a few recent reads that ought to appeal to many folks who like to support local authors (and publishers).

These recently published books don’t necessarily scream Atlantic Canada in their subject matter—several are set elsewhere—and each is very different from the other. All are highly recommended. You will laugh at several of them. You may get teary at others, and one, you may burst into tears. I admit nothing here.

The History of Rain
by Stephens Gerard Malone

Fellow local author Christy Ann Conlin describes this novel, set in post First World War Europe, as evocative of both DH Lawrence and F. Scott Fitzgerald. But if you’re not a fan of those authors, don’t be deterred, because this is a very special and beautiful work. It follows the story of a man who calls himself Rain, who was badly injured and disfigured in the First World War, and found healing of a sort in the pleasures of working in gardens. He becomes a gardener to celebrities, who care not what he looks like so long as his plantings are glorious. He also works at his skill so he can follow his unrequited love from those days in recovery. The language of this story is exquisite, the botanical illustrations on the cover and before the chapters add to the texture and mood of the story. 

The Good Women of Safe Harbour
by Bobbi French

Saying we have a favourite book is like saying we have a favourite pet or child—it’s so hard to pick just one. But of the many I’ve read this year, Bobbi French’s first novel is the one I have recommended the most. Frances Delaney, the narrator of this book set in a rural Newfoundland outport, is nearing 60 and is filled with regrets about her life. She decides to return to her home community of Safe Harbour and mend things with her erstwhile best friend, from whom she has been estranged for many years. But the story is so much more than this simple statement. Frances is also living with a brain tumour, which, with black humour, she calls “the squid,” and she has plans to leave this world on her own terms. In the meantime…she plans to love and live life to the fullest. Have a box of tissues on the coffee table beside you. That’s all I’ll say, other than you will laugh a lot as well as get teary.

Decoding Dot Grey
by Nicola Davison

Set in the 1990s, before there were no-kill animal shelters, this story introduces us to 18-year-old Dot Grey—rescuer of animals wild and tame, living life almost on the fringes of society, living with her own way of looking at and communicating in the world. I was smitten with Dot and her tender sensibilities from pretty much the opening pages, and utterly drawn into the story set within the story. What happened to Dot’s mother? Why won’t her father admit to the realities of their lives? 

Dot brings order to the world around her by working in the animal shelter, and with bringing home her own set of rescues, including the crow, Toby. Dot also copes by tapping out her understanding of the world around her through Morse code. In 2019, Davison won the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award for her first novel, In the Wake, which I have yet to read but which IS in my stash on my iPad. But I would bet that Decoding Dot Grey is a winner, too.  

Fishnets & Fantasies
by Jane Doucet

Truly, I wasn’t sure what to think when I picked up Doucet’s latest work. By about a dozen pages in, I had gigglesnorted several times, and ignored housework until I finished reading it. Imagine, if you would, a semi-retired wife and mother who decides to open a riské (adult) shop—in downtown Lunenberg. That should be enough to send many scrambling to their bookstores, but the fun doesn’t stop there.

The cast of characters who are in this universe are vividly and tenderly drawn, including Wendy Hebb, the fisherman’s wife and first-time entrepreneur who plans to open the shop; her longsuffering spouse Paul, who hopes this will all blow over but quietly offers his support; various neighbours who are pro or anti the shop; and many more. In some ways, this novel reminds me of one of my favourite Canadian-made shows, Schitt’s Creek, which I often rewatch for its gently snarky portrayal of small town life. I could see the CBC making a series out of Doucet’s book, too. CBC, are you listening?  

Nosy Parker
by Lesley Crewe

I heard Lesley Crewe read a couple excerpts from her newest, bestselling novel at our Saltscapes Expo last spring, and I was smitten by her and Nosy Parker. Set in 1960s Montreal, this is the story of Audrey Parker, a wanna-be child detective who is determined to discover untoward things in her new neighbourhood—or, at the very least, find out what happened to her mother, whom she has never known and whom her father will not discuss. Along the way she makes new friends and a few enemies, rescues the occasional creature (human or otherwise) and grows up a lot in her Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood.

This is an enchanting story, and whether you’re old enough to remember the tumult of the late 60s—Expo 67, moon landings and more—or not, you’ll be drawn into Crewe’s vivid descriptions of the culture of that neighbourhood and into the appealing character of Audrey. I read this novel in two nights, lent it to my best friend with the insistence I get it back…so I can read it again. Lesley Crewe is one of the most well-known and beloved of East Coast authors, and her latest book helps her retain that standing.