Roxanne Dubois is a union activist, reader, and writer based in Toronto. Every Friday, she publishes an email newsletter called vendredi français which shares original writings and francophone content from all over the web.
Read and subscribe at http://www.vendredifrancais.ca or catch her on twitter at @roxannedubois.
In this simple novel, Yoko Ogawa brings to life an improbable trio with an absolute passion for prime numbers and baseball. Published in 2003, translated into English from Japanese, The Housekeeper and the Professor is a quick read that will surprise readers with its purity, humour and hope.
'Numerous sources have told CTV Toronto that General Motors is planning to close all operations in Oshawa, Ont., affecting thousands of high-paying jobs. The announcement is expected to be made on Monday, in the city of about 159,000 people located roughly 60 kilometres east of Toronto.'
Ten years after the crash, is any aspect of our daily lives unfettered by the influence of finance capital? It is clear enough that neoliberalism has permeated most layers of public governance, most social interactions, to create a legacy of starved public services, wealth inequality and powerful global capitalism. Surely art has been spared, especially in the contemporary form, which can be an expression of emotion and beauty, or even a space where criticism, resistance and subversiveness are not only allowed but expected. Max Haiven argues instead that art and money cannot be disassociated; that art is in fact dependent on capitalism and in no way apart from it.
At last! I finished Jane Austen's immensely popular Pride & Prejudice. It won me over, in the end, but hell, was it ever hard to get through. Such is the challenge with making your way through a list of classics. While I am always content to finish them, some are bound to be grueling reads.
So far this year, I have read a number of incredible books, none of which have come close to The Break by Katherena Vermette. I finished this book months ago, and have since been haunted by some of its vivid, upsetting and heartwarming scenes. In many ways, this book is far too grand to summarize. In fact, what you will read below is less of a book review, and more of a post on why everyone in Canada should read this book.
Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV) expresses its deepest sympathies to members of the American Jewish community following the killing this morning of ten worshippers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA.
Internationally known left-wing writer and scholar Tariq Ali was in Toronto last night. Two back-to-back speaking events were hosted by the Toronto Public Library as part of the On civil society series. He first talked about his favourite writer Eduardo Galeano, and then about the Left more broadly. Both talks were sold out, the second even requiring an overflow room.
Jonny Appleseed is heading back to the Peguis First Nations community where he was born, just outside of Winnipeg, because his stepfather passed away. Such is the premise of this short, punchy first novel by author Joshua Whitehead. In this book, Jonny's character wanders through thoughts and memories, feelings of pain and joy as he attempts to gather enough money to go back to the reserve to see his mother.
Par hasard, je suis tombée sur la référence d'un livre de Patrick Chamoiseau récemment traduit vers l'anglais. L'auteur natif de la Martinique a passé le plus clair de sa vie à ce jour à écrire, à raconter des histoires, et à défendre la création créole. Dans ce court roman intitulé L'esclave vieil homme et le molosse, le lecteur part à la poursuite de cet homme en quête de liberté. Celui-ci s'échappe de la plantation où il a passé des années interminables au service d'un maître infatigable et il court. C'est court, mais combien puissant comme petit roman !
Cherie Dimaline first published a novel in 2011, and should be on everyone's list of authors to follow. Her most recent book is The Marrow Thieves, which received multiple awards and competed in the 2018 edition of Canada Reads. The novel is set in a world ravaged by climate change, where it rains almost every day and humans have been through numerous environmental catastrophes. Everyone has lost the ability to dream in their sleep, except for Indigenous people who have, in their bone marrow, a special composition that allows them to continue dreaming. As a result, they are persecuted. In this book, we get to know eight people through the eyes of a young boy, Francis also known as Frenchie, who is part of this group on the run from the marrow thieves.
