Fiction
Escape from the real world with the season’s most provocative novels, short stories, and poetry
BY STEVEN W. BEATTIE, SUE CARTER, AND RYAN PORTER
Eden Robinson
EDEN ROBINSON: ARDEN WRAY
Return of the Trickster
Eden Robinson
Knopf Canada,
March
Substance abuse, domestic violence, poverty, and supernatural stalkers are no match for the joyful humour of Eden Robinson, who wraps up her blockbuster Trickster trilogy this spring. As Jared comes fully into his power, he is at the centre of a struggle between his mother, a literal witch, and the dark forces closing in on them. The books have already put Robinson on the shortlist for the Giller Prize and been adapted for a CBC TV series, so no pressure, right?
–RP
Sufferance
Thomas King
HarperCollinsCanada,
May
Following quickly upon his 2020 bestseller, Indians on Vacation, Thomas King returns with another novel that blends humour and social commentary. Jeremiah Camp, known as “the Forecaster” for his ability to see paths to wealth and power, has lost hope in humanity. Jaded, he tries to start his life over, only to find his past creeping back in again.
–RP
The Doomsday Book of Fairy Tales
Emily Brewes
Dundurn,
May
Emily Brewes gives Mother Goose a makeover in her whimsical debut novel. Twenty-five years after the climate apocalypse, Jesse Vanderchuck
ventures from the safety of Toronto’s underground tunnels in search of his lost sister. Accompanied by a talking dog, he recounts a series of fairy tales – or what he can remember of them – touching on themes of cultural legacy familiar to readers of Emily St. John Mandel’s
Station
Eleven.