Chris Benjamin's Blog - Posts Tagged "2019"
My Top 9 Favourite Books Read in 2019
Elsewhere California, Dana Johnson. Beautiful exploration of not only race and class but also the ways we become our adult selves, the choices we make and the hand we're dealt, how the littlest things or encounters can shift us one way or the other, and how all these make us far more complex than the category boxes on the census forms, the stereotypes we put groups of people into.
White Kids, Margaret Hagerman. Fascinating commentary from rich white kids and their parents about race. Of the many messages in this book, I'll most remember the pervasiveness of the belief by some people that they "don't see race." It's not just a harmless self-deception; that belief prevents people from seeing the racism in front of their faces, prevents them from seeing injustice everywhere, and let's them pretend racism is a thing of the past.
The Wanton Troopers, Alden Nowlan
Gorgeous prose, poetic turns of phrase and image; fully realized, complex characters, the people are very real, flawed, and yet Nowlan calls on them with love. Told from the child's perspective, which allows a certain naivete yet never flinches at the sometimes gory details of the story. Dialogue ranges from gritty to bullyish taunting to whimsical to philosophical-theological to drunken carousing. Brilliant book.
The Boat People, Sharon Bala
The three perspectives were all engaging, fascinating, illuminating. Each showed something different about the refugee claimants and Canada's response to them. I got a look at the bureaucracy and politics behind decisions on their 500+fates. I got a look in the jail where they stayed, the psychological machinations--the cage inside the brain. I got a look at life and survival, the brutality in Sri Lanka at war with itself. I got a look at Canadian life from a 1st-generation Canadian, the daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants, who also had a fascinating and complex backstory. This was a great story, very engrossing.
Malagash, Joey Comeau
Young woman records conversations with her dying father and uses them to create a computer virus that will outlive him. Beautifully rendered, brilliant concept, absolutely heartbreaking.
Best Canadian Short Stories 2018, Russel Smith
My favourites were by David Huebert, Kathy Page, Alex Pugsley, Stephen Marche (he wrote a short story forcing himself to follow certain algorithmic restraints of "good literature", and it turned out great), and Bill Gaston.
The Wedding, Dorothy West
Beautiful prose and rich, complex characters set up this tragedy, in which everyone is obsessed with race and skin colour, which made me consider my own privilege of not having to be. The dialogue wasn’t great, but all the other writing was.
The Search for Heinrich Schlögel, Martha Baillie
I loved the character and story of Heinrich Schlögel, the titular and main focus of this novel. His story was a profound exploration of living with our histories—personal and collective--particularly colonial genocide. That sounds like a slog but the prose was so tender it didn't feel like one.
Best American Short Stories, Roxane Gay
Diverse and fascinating selection of American stories, all superbly written with very few misses. Personal favs were Boys Go to Jupiter by Danielle Evans (deep dive into racism and responsibility); Unearth by Alicia Elliott (exploring the trauma and legacy of residential schools); Good with Boys by Kristen Iskandrian (a beautifully simple coming-of-age story set in a museum); A Big True by Dina Nayeri (looking at immigration and changes in status it brings, but also the concept of living a free and creative life); and Whose Heart I Long to Stop with a the Click of a Revolver (again about inter-generational trauma, but also about power and guns).
JAN 22 EDIT:
I can't believe it but I left The Break by Katherena Vermette off my list! This is a Top-3-of-the-year book along with Wanton Troopers and Malagash. What makes this novel so compelling is Vermette's ability to take so many different perspectives, to show the pain and trauma of so many characters, including the perpetrator of a horrific act. Even as the victim’s mother understandably says she doesn’t give a fuck for the perpetrator’s backstory, we the readers know it, and we feel for her as well.
White Kids, Margaret Hagerman. Fascinating commentary from rich white kids and their parents about race. Of the many messages in this book, I'll most remember the pervasiveness of the belief by some people that they "don't see race." It's not just a harmless self-deception; that belief prevents people from seeing the racism in front of their faces, prevents them from seeing injustice everywhere, and let's them pretend racism is a thing of the past.
The Wanton Troopers, Alden Nowlan
Gorgeous prose, poetic turns of phrase and image; fully realized, complex characters, the people are very real, flawed, and yet Nowlan calls on them with love. Told from the child's perspective, which allows a certain naivete yet never flinches at the sometimes gory details of the story. Dialogue ranges from gritty to bullyish taunting to whimsical to philosophical-theological to drunken carousing. Brilliant book.
The Boat People, Sharon Bala
The three perspectives were all engaging, fascinating, illuminating. Each showed something different about the refugee claimants and Canada's response to them. I got a look at the bureaucracy and politics behind decisions on their 500+fates. I got a look in the jail where they stayed, the psychological machinations--the cage inside the brain. I got a look at life and survival, the brutality in Sri Lanka at war with itself. I got a look at Canadian life from a 1st-generation Canadian, the daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants, who also had a fascinating and complex backstory. This was a great story, very engrossing.
Malagash, Joey Comeau
Young woman records conversations with her dying father and uses them to create a computer virus that will outlive him. Beautifully rendered, brilliant concept, absolutely heartbreaking.
Best Canadian Short Stories 2018, Russel Smith
My favourites were by David Huebert, Kathy Page, Alex Pugsley, Stephen Marche (he wrote a short story forcing himself to follow certain algorithmic restraints of "good literature", and it turned out great), and Bill Gaston.
The Wedding, Dorothy West
Beautiful prose and rich, complex characters set up this tragedy, in which everyone is obsessed with race and skin colour, which made me consider my own privilege of not having to be. The dialogue wasn’t great, but all the other writing was.
The Search for Heinrich Schlögel, Martha Baillie
I loved the character and story of Heinrich Schlögel, the titular and main focus of this novel. His story was a profound exploration of living with our histories—personal and collective--particularly colonial genocide. That sounds like a slog but the prose was so tender it didn't feel like one.
Best American Short Stories, Roxane Gay
Diverse and fascinating selection of American stories, all superbly written with very few misses. Personal favs were Boys Go to Jupiter by Danielle Evans (deep dive into racism and responsibility); Unearth by Alicia Elliott (exploring the trauma and legacy of residential schools); Good with Boys by Kristen Iskandrian (a beautifully simple coming-of-age story set in a museum); A Big True by Dina Nayeri (looking at immigration and changes in status it brings, but also the concept of living a free and creative life); and Whose Heart I Long to Stop with a the Click of a Revolver (again about inter-generational trauma, but also about power and guns).
JAN 22 EDIT:
I can't believe it but I left The Break by Katherena Vermette off my list! This is a Top-3-of-the-year book along with Wanton Troopers and Malagash. What makes this novel so compelling is Vermette's ability to take so many different perspectives, to show the pain and trauma of so many characters, including the perpetrator of a horrific act. Even as the victim’s mother understandably says she doesn’t give a fuck for the perpetrator’s backstory, we the readers know it, and we feel for her as well.
