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Joyride more than lives up to its title in this look back at the evolution of a writer, from small alternative weeklies in Portland, through stories placed with Outside, Esquire, Vanity Fair and eventually as staff writer for The New Yorker.
Orlean’s work infamously wanders and takes long detours for digressions, but she presents her life chronologically to give us a real understanding of a career, and life, marked with indefatigable curiosity and wonder. Catnip for both fans of her work and those looking to chart a similar career path.
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Birds of Maine by Michael DeForge
Originally appearing as a webcomic, DeForge gives us a deadpan absurd satire of a utopian colony on the moon, established by birds that have fled a human degraded earth. Any world where librarian and historian are the most honourable professions is one for me. Life as a hot pelican doesn’t seem bad either.
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Bread of Angels by Patti Smith
The author of the National Book Award winning Just Kids takes us all the way back to her childhood, through her development as an artist through to the present day.
Smith’s childhood was one of frequent moves, near Dickensian levels of poverty and a blossoming imagination. Fans will enjoy reading about the years filled in here, not covered in her other writings, but this is also a great read for anyone that enjoys memoirs of interesting and unusual lives, particularly those of an artist. But this isn’t just the story of an artist, but that of a daughter, wife and mother.
Smith’s writing is so accessible that it’s easy to imagine her telling the story from your kitchen table or in a dank and cozy bar somewhere. This is a gift, from a 79 year old still writing with full command of her craft.
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The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves
Cleeves launches a new series with a familiar character, Detective Jimmy Perez, who has left Shetland for a new posting in the Orkney Islands.
Why he was hired is beyond me, given the trail of murders that invariably follow in his wake, no matter how windswept, bare and sparsely populated the location. This time, it’s the body of Jimmy’s friend Archie Stout, found in the wake of a violent storm, whose head has been bashed in with a rune covered Neolithic story stone.
Fresh series or not, there is nothing new here, but that’s a large part of the charm of Cleeves’ writing and her legion of fans are sure to be happy that Perez is back on the page.
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A page turning look at 21st century loneliness as seen through the eyes of a young freelance writer trying to navigate the gig economy, prescription drugs, dating apps, casual sex and loneliness.
Gritty, honest, horrifying and laugh out loud funny at times while being all too believable. Smith’s first work of fiction in ten years is more than a return to form: it’s a masterclass.
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One of Canada’s most beloved novelists pens her first memoir, one that flouts convention by not employing a linear storyline with the usual progression from childhood through becoming a writer and all that followed.
Instead, Toews give us constant flashbacks, musings, snatches of correspondence quotes from literature, along with her thoughts and feelings about why she writes, a question she’s meant to answer onstage at a forthcoming conference. This will surely disappoint as many people as it thrills (put me in the latter camp) but it’s a short read and contains much to enjoy if approached with an open mind. It reads more like coffee with a friend than as part of a university course’s assigned reading. I’d meet Ms Toews for coffee any time.
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