The Illegal

 By Lawrence Hill

Adult Fiction

Reviewed by Sarah from the Winkler Branch

    The Illegal is written by Canadian and award winning author of The Book of Negroes, Lawrence Hill. Set in Africa, The Illegal tells the story of an oppressive dictatorship called Zantoroland.  Main character Zeita Ali is a gifted marathon runner who is trying to escape the trappings of poverty.  He becomes a fugitive, hunted by the government of his native country.  The government already murdered his father, a journalist, for investigating the deep corruption in the country, and his mother passed away when he was a child.  All Zeita has left is a sister who is studying at a university overseas on a scholarship when she goes missing.

   Author Lawrence Hill proves to be a master storyteller, weaving a complex tale of political and personal intrigue with many diverse and interesting characters who have their own struggles and challenges.  This book involves intense tragedy, humour, espionage, immigration, prostitution, kidnapping, systemic racism and even an unlikely burgeoning romance, all in a race against time.  This is a fast paced, exciting novel that had me turning the pages far into the night.  I definitely recommend it.

To place this book on hold, click here.

The Hobbit

 By J. R. R. Tolkien    

Junior Fiction

Reviewed by Heidi from the Winkler Branch   

    The Hobbit may be an old book, but it never loses its charm.  Published for the first time in 1937 by JRR Tolkien, it is classified as a Junior Fiction novel, but it is a great read for anyone wanting to live in another world for the weekend.  Hobbits are fictional creatures, little people who live in a place called the Shire, where they like to farm, eat cake, and throw parties.  They never do anything unexpected or go anywhere outside the shire.  The Hobbit follows one such hobbit named Bilbo Baggins.  His life takes a turn when he is hired as a professional burglar for an expedition of great importance.

    This book has become a classic in every sense of the word.  Although some of the language is dated, it feels timeless due to the imaginary nature of the story.  This is a coming-of-age story in a sense, a story about finding oneself and finding the courage to do hard things.  It is about greed, hospitality, adventure, and courage.

Reading options: the classic novel, graphic novel, audiobook, BBC adaptation (found on Libby)

Watch options: The Hobbit Trilogy (on DVD)

To find all the reading/watching options in the catalogue, click here.

Deliberate Cruelty: Truman Capote, The Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century

By Roseanne Montillo

Adult Non-Fiction

Reviewed by Linda from the Winkler Branch

    Late one night, after a party where everyone had been talking about a thief prowling the neighborhood, Ann Woodward accidentally shot and killed her millionaire husband Billy.  Or was it accidental?  The court of popular opinion called it murder, and writer Truman Capote made it his mission, or vendetta, to make Ann pay for it, for his own secret reasons.  Capote and Ann Woodward came from the same kind of background, but instead of finding common ground, Capote ended up driving Woodward to her death.

    I was expecting Deliberate Cruelty to be true crime, and in a way it is.  The first half of the book is all about the shooting, the background of the main characters, and the investigation and court case.  (Personally, I would have liked more emphasis on the investigation and trial).  But then Montillo switches to Truman Capote and his fascination with the story of Ann Woodward, and goes into his background and life with the same thoroughness that she gave Woodward. Her argument is that whether or not Woodward killed her husband, Truman Capote drove her to suicide, essentially murdering her.  Montillo develops her story slowly, and to me it read more like social commentary than true crime, so that was a bit of a disappointment.  Still, it was a good read, and I don't regret picking it up.

To place this book on hold, click here.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

 By Gail Honeyman

Adult Fiction

Reviewed by Kelly from the Winkler Branch

    "A philosophical question: if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?  And if a woman who's wholly alone occasionally talks to a pot plant, is she certifiable?"

    Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine...or is she?  This book follows Eleanor, a solitary individual who survives on routine, the daily crossword, and vodka.  Despite her prim and aloof nature, Eleanor is befriended by Raymond, the scruffy and big-hearted IT guy.  He joins Eleanor as she experiences both outward and inward changes, initially prompted by her falling in love with local musician, Johnnie Lomond.  Together this unlikely duo discovers the truth of Eleanor's past and this helps her learn how to move forward.

    In all honesty, I was surprised at how much I liked this book. 

    While I believe it is important to discuss and learn about mental health issues, the process can often feel very draining.  I enjoyed how this book brought humor to the sensitive subject, while still not making light of it.

    I also found this book to be a rather unique reading experience. It is told from the main character's perspective and as a reader, we tend to trust that that perspective is the truth.  We forget that it is simply how the character perceives the situation, and that those are not necessarily the same.  As this story progresses, it challenges the reader's trust in what is the truth, and gives opportunities for the reader to compare how they would interpret a situation vs. how the character interprets it.

    While this is not a book I would usually choose for myself, I'm glad I gave it a chance, and I hope others do too.

    **Check online for trigger warnings**

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Or here.

For the book club kit, click here.

The School For Good Mothers

 By Jessamine Chan

Adult Fiction

Reviewed by Janine from the Winkler Branch

    Frida Liu had one very bad day.  Because of this very bad day, Frida loses custody of her 18 month old daughter Harriet and is sentenced to a year in a government run parental reform school where the motto is "I am a bad mother but I am learning to be good."  Here, the mothers are required to take parenting classes using life-like dolls that function as real children in the hopes that by the end of the year they will have their children returned to them.  The instructors are unforgiving and any missteps on the part of the mothers can cause the loss of their weekly phone call with their child, or time spent in talk circle.  Frida's sole focus is getting Harriet back and despite her growing relationship with Emanuelle, her doll daughter, life at the school is difficult and the many distractions cause Frida to lose focus and her ultimate goal is soon in jeopardy.

   I started off really struggling to get into this book.  I don't think I even made it through the first chapter before I had to stop for awhile.  Every mom has had days where they just want to run away from it all but reading about someone actually doing it was difficult for me.  Eventually I picked it up again and once I got into it, I found the book really interesting, although there were still parts that were hard to read.  There were often times that I found myself yelling at Frida in my head as she made one questionable decision after another.  I also found the instructors treatment of the mothers difficult to read.  They were very harsh with the mothers and often shamed them for their choices.  Despite all of that, and the fact that I didn't really care for the ending, I still liked the book.  While I found the concept of the school interesting, I found myself wondering how or if it would work in real life.  While there may be parents out there who could benefit from a program like this, I don't think the way they went about it was the most effective.  I would recommend this book, especially if you like dystopian fiction.

To place Manitou and Miami's copies on hold, click here.

To place Morden's copy on hold, click here.