Book review Archives - Queen's Journal

‘The Skin We’re In’ challenges white supremacy

Written on February 4, 2022. Posted in Arts, Literature.

This article includes descriptions of violence and may be triggering for some readers. The Peer Support Centre offers drop-in services and empathetic peer-based support and is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Online services can be accessed here. On Jan. 28, 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted...

Exploring the meaning of family in fiction

Written on November 26, 2021. Posted in Arts, Literature.

As a live-at-home Kingstonian, the end of exam season has always been awkward for me. I’ve listened to my friends excitedly plan elaborate journeys to return to their loved ones. Meanwhile, my “elaborate journey” involves closing my laptop, descending a set of stairs, and hugging my mom in the...

‘The Corrections’ is a cautionary tale worth revisiting

Written on October 7, 2021. Posted in Arts, Literature.

In the 20 years since its release, The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen has garnered a reputation as a modern literary classic—and with time, its warnings not to take those we love for granted have become more relevant than ever. This 2001 novel by Franzen debuted to universal acclaim. It won the...

Review: In ‘The Glass Hotel,’ women deserve more agency

Written on March 19, 2021. Posted in Arts.

While it’s true random events often have the power to drastically change the course of our lives, The Glass Hotel, a Canadian novel by Emily St. John Mandel, undermines the agency women have in their romantic relationships. At the heart of the book is a Ponzi scheme executed by the ultra-wealthy Johnathan...

In debut novel Happy Hour, Marlowe Granados delves into world of glamour, parties, and friendship

Written on March 12, 2021. Posted in Arts.

Marlowe Granados likes to browse. You can tell from the way her living room—the background of our Zoom call—is decorated, in a manner both elegant and curated. Only someone with a good eye can make it look entirely natural. Isa and Gala, the protagonists of her debut novel Happy Hour, also like...

‘Citizen: An American Lyric’ challenges readers with the reality of casual racism

Written on February 26, 2021. Posted in Arts.

Claudia Rankine’s voice is nothing short of transformational. Her volume, Citizen: An American Lyric, is a book-length poem which illuminates the uncomfortable reality of Black citizens’ everyday lives. There’s an overwhelming feeling in the collection of taking up too much space—of being too visible...

'A Mind Spread Out on the Ground' is a stunning meditation on trauma, decolonization, and love

Written on November 13, 2020. Posted in Arts.

Tuscarora author Alicia Elliott starts her debut book, A Mind Spread Out on the Ground, by comparing depression to colonialism. The feelings of death, mourning, pain, and loss are present in both experiences; she uses her personal journey with depression, layered with intricate metaphors and poetic...

Queen’s Reads brings focus and feeling to refugee crisis

Written on October 10, 2019. Posted in Arts.

When two-year-old Alan Kurdi’s death received global attention, the conversation about the Syrian war took on a new tone—and his aunt, Tima Kurdi, was a large part of that shift. Now, Tima Kurdi’s book The Boy on the Beach—Queen’s Reads choice for 2019—tells the harrowing and hopeful story of her...

Considering forgiveness with Canada Reads’ Suzanne

Written on March 21, 2019. Posted in Arts, Literature.

Writing about family is difficult, but forgiving family for past wrongs is even more so—and that’s how Suzanne by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette succeeds. Translated into English by Rhonda Mullins, Suzanne follows the life of Barbeau-Lavalette’s maternal grandmother, Suzanne Meloche, over the course of 85...

Queen’s alum Iain Reid’s novel Foe sees the future

Written on September 11, 2018. Posted in Arts, Literature.

In the near future, a young couple, Junior and Hen, receive an offer: a clone in exchange for a husband. It’s the first scene of Queen’s alum Iain Reid’s second novel, Foe. The following story is a taut psychological thriller that most readers will down in a single sitting. In those first few pages,...

Latest novel by Queen’s Alum falls short of expectations

Written on July 30, 2018. Posted in Arts.

Mysterious plane crashes, doppelgängers, and shady business transactions are a perfect recipe for a science-fiction classic, but Timothy Taylor’s latest novel misses the mark. The Rule of Stephens is the latest from Taylor, MBA’ 87. The novel tells the tale of Catherine Bach, a plane crash...

Lost in Austen after 200 years

Written on July 31, 2017. Posted in Arts.

On the 200th anniversary of Austen’s death, there is still no sign of her work fading to the background of the literary world. Dr. Robert Morrison, a professor of 19th century literature and culture at Queen’s, has taught Austen to students for the past 25 years. For him, the reason is simple: Jane...

Queen’s Reads is The Break you need

Written on July 31, 2017. Posted in Arts.

After being scrapped for a few years, Queen’s Reads is back with a page-turner. Queen’s Reads is a community reading program that attempts to engage students on campus with themes and ideas they may not have previously encountered. Every year, the book chosen by Queen’s Reads is distributed free of...

Let’s talk about Queen’s Reads

Written on July 31, 2017. Posted in Arts.

Queen’s Reads is an annual on-campus reading program which distributes a free book to anyone interested. Queen’s Reads Development Coordinator Carolyn Thompson discussed what the program means for interested students as well as detailing the reasons behind choosing The Break. Below is an e-mail interview...

Wands out over Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Written on September 13, 2016. Posted in Lifestyle.

There’s new magic in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child VS. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Plot Holes Warning, this article contains spoilers. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Plot Holes Catherine Ryoo The more I think about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the more I find myself...

Creative writing illuminated from the other side

Written on June 27, 2016. Posted in Arts.

“Language, which is useful in the province of the intellect is a relatively clumsy vehicle in the expression of emotion and of narrative movement,” Carol Shields wrote in her work Narrative Hunger and the Possibilities of Fiction. I had never heard of Carol Shields before I held her latest work....

Queen’s student’s debut work parodies dystopian fiction

Written on June 27, 2016. Posted in Arts.

Editor’s note: This article may contain spoilers. What do you get when you cross The Hunger Games with a wicked sense of humour? An outrageous novel with immoral characters and a whiplash-inducing plotline. Queen’s student Jake Caldera’s The Elephant on Fire is just that. The novel, which was...

Book review: Can You Hear the Nightbird Call?

Written on February 12, 2015. Posted in Lifestyle.

Anita Rau Badami’s Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? is an enlightening novel that chronicles the lives of three strong women over the span of 50 years, linking them through their native ties to India and unique relations to Canada. Canada is a country known for its multiculturalism, and this novel...

Book review: Adult Onset

Written on October 3, 2014. Posted in Lifestyle.

What happens over the course of a week? You tidy the kitchen, play with your dog, call your mom. But even in an uneventful week — grocery shopping, laundry, maybe lunch with a friend — one’s entire universe may shift. Best-selling Canadian author Ann Marie MacDonald’s latest work Adult Onset is the...

Review: The Book of Marvels

Written on April 3, 2014. Posted in Lifestyle.

End of term assignments and dismal weather getting you down? Lorna Crozier’s collection of “prose meditations,” The Book of Marvels: A Compendium of Everyday Things, might remind you that there is beauty in everyday objects and experiences. Crozier goes through the alphabet, from air and apple to...

Review: Rebecca Lee’s Bobcat and Other Stories

Written on March 19, 2014. Posted in Lifestyle.

When was the last time you read a short story — not for class, but for fun? If you can’t think of an answer, or if that answer happens to be “never”, you’re missing out on the wealth of talented Canadian short story writers. One author who immediately comes to mind is, of course, Alice Munro, the...

Review: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window

Written on February 12, 2014. Posted in Lifestyle.

Staying at home this Reading Week? Take an imaginary trip around the world instead. Jonas Jonasson’s novel The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared allows you to travel to places like Sweden, Russia, China, the Himalayas or even North Korea without leaving the comfort of your...

Tag: Book review

‘The Skin We’re In’ challenges white supremacy

Exploring the meaning of family in fiction

‘The Corrections’ is a cautionary tale worth revisiting

Review: In ‘The Glass Hotel,’ women deserve more agency

In debut novel Happy Hour, Marlowe Granados delves into world of glamour, parties, and friendship

‘Citizen: An American Lyric’ challenges readers with the reality of casual racism

'A Mind Spread Out on the Ground' is a stunning meditation on trauma, decolonization, and love

Queen’s Reads brings focus and feeling to refugee crisis

Considering forgiveness with Canada Reads’ Suzanne

Queen’s alum Iain Reid’s novel Foe sees the future

Latest novel by Queen’s Alum falls short of expectations

Lost in Austen after 200 years

Queen’s Reads is The Break you need

Let’s talk about Queen’s Reads

Wands out over Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Creative writing illuminated from the other side

Queen’s student’s debut work parodies dystopian fiction

Book review: Can You Hear the Nightbird Call?

Book review: Adult Onset

Review: The Book of Marvels

Review: Rebecca Lee’s Bobcat and Other Stories

Review: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window

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