Côte Saint-Luc Reads -- The Disappeared

I am so excited about this! The Disappeared is this years CSL Reads pick! It was not an easy feat choosing a book to follow Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes, the CSL Reads book for 2009! Many a book was read, discussed and eliminated by staff members in the CSL Reads committee. Finally, we came across this book! It has all the elements that we were searching for in a CSL Reads book! Happy were we when the author Kim Echlin accepted our invitation to come speak to us about her book. She’ll be here at the library to Launch CSL Reads 2010 on the evening of Thursday April 29. Tickets are on sale at the Circulation desk. Get yours today before we run out!

When I was reading this book, I could not put it down. I actually read it in one sitting! Luckily it is not too big a book! It is so sad in places, I even cried. The story is set in the 1970s, first in Montreal, then in Cambodia, in the time of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. It is an amazing love story, written in the first person by Anne, a Montrealer, who falls desperately in love with Serey from Cambodia, who is studying in Montreal. Anne’s love for Serey shines through the pages, and you want them to be together, but you know that Serey’s urge to return to his devastated homeland makes it impossible. There’s a real sense of despair. At certain points, I wanted to reach into the book and tell Anne to wake up and move on as he was a lost cause!

I don't want to tell you anything more about the story - you have to read it for yourself. But I do have to say that Echlin's descriptions of the genocide and aftermath in Cambodia are heart-wrenching. I found myself feeling thankful for being born in Canada as I read this novel. I knew about the atrocities that took place in Cambodia on a superficial level, but The Disappeared made me familiar on a much deeper level. This novel will shake you up. It is well worth reading.

Book of the month - Year of the Flood

Picture it: the world as we know it no longer exists. It is now an empty place, destroyed by a pandemic that Atwood has dubbed the Waterless Flood. It is a world where gene spliced animals now roam free: animals like liobams (a lion and lamb hybrid) and Mo'Hairs (multi-coloured sheep used for growing hair replacements) and rakunks (raccoon and skunk hybrids).

In this devastation, two people have survived the Waterless Flood. Toby is holed up inside a health spa that catered to the rich. And Ren is locked inside a high end sex club. As they both fight the land and the animals in order to survive, they both reflect on their past life and how they got where they are now. Through a series of flashbacks, we're shown Ren and Toby's stories. We learn about the Gods Gardeners, a religious sect that preached love for everything, every plant and every animal. A religious sect that at once, separated themselves from regular life and was shunned by society at large.

My very condensed summary doesn’t come close to covering the entirety of the plot of The Year of the Flood. It is a novel of epic proportions, moving back and forth between past, present and future. There is no way I could convey to you everything that is in this novel. The Year of the Flood touches on so many subjects including a pandemic, religion, the environment, love, government, war…. At first glance there seems to be too much in The Year of the Flood, that Atwood has filled it too full. But it’s not too full; Atwood manages to pull it off and creates an incredible novel that speaks to the heart, to the mind and to the spirit.

Though the future she presents is grim, there is a dark humour present. Her characters are also incredibly realized and well developed. I cared about these people from the first page. It is almost impossible not to. I found this book terrifying, hilarious, and thought-provoking with scences so plausible they'll send chills down your spine. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart or those looking for a feel good read!

Book of the Month -- The Heart Specialist

I just recently finished reading The Heart Specialist . I really enjoyed it. I think a lot of different types of readers will too. This book offers something for nearly everyone. Students of Canadian history, particularly Canadian medical history, will enjoy the topics covered in the novel (the Spanish flu, McGill University’s Medical School and Medical Museum, Heart anomalies and congenital heart disease, etc). Montrealers will love the atmosphere of turn-of-the-twentieth-century Montreal. Yet others will be drawn to the depiction of a pioneering woman's struggle. Mystery lovers will revel in the slowly unveiled secrets. And romantics will discover at least a little of the stuff of dreams.

I read a review of this book in the Gazette sometime in the spring. The reviewer (sorry, I can’t recall who) wrote that The Heart Specialist is a page turner and that she was sorry to see the book end. Well, with a review like that, I was intrigued. And then, when I finally had the book in hand, I noticed on the back cover that Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes (which I loved!), also praised it. In his words: “The writing is striking, the emotion immediate, the medical detail fascinating, and the story compelling from the first page to the last.” Now, my curiosity was truly peaked!

Let me tell you, the book didn’t disappoint. I loved that the author, Claire Holden Rothman, used the professional life of Dr. Maude Abbot as the starting point for her character, Agnes White. (Every aspect of Agnes’ life, other than professional, is purely a product of the author’s imagination.) I was perplexed by Agnes’ father’s decision to simply abandon his young family. I was inspired and awed by Agnes’ determination to achieve the impossible dream of becoming a medical doctor. I was angered by McGill University’s refusal to admit her into their medical school, despite fulfilling their demands. I was elated when Agnes’ medical career soared and her findings became world renowned. I was saddened when Agnes’s sister’s marriage fell apart and her mental health weakened. As you can see, it was quite a roller coaster ride.

Read it and let me know what you think.