Quill and Quire

Fiction: Novels

By Clark Blaise

If I were Lander – guilt-ridden main character, failed father and husband, famous neurolinguist – I might be less forgiving of myself. So why does author Clark Blaise allow his character to find so much ... Read More »

April 19, 2004 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

By Miriam Toews

Miriam Toews’ second novel starts with a funny-sad zinger: “Half of our family, the better-looking half, is missing,” and right away we’re hooked on our narrator’s mournful smarts. Laconic, restless, sixteen-year-old Naomi “Nomi” Nickel doesn’t ... Read More »

April 12, 2004 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels