Kootenay Book Weekend’s Summer Reading Suggestions

Summer is here and it’s time to pick your summer reads. It takes only one good book to create a “passionate page turner.” Whether you read for inspiration, information, relaxation or indulgence, there are others who share your love of books. Reading and discussing what you read can open up new avenues of thought and ways of looking at the fascinating worlds within us and around us. Come share your insights or simply enjoy the company of others who love to read.

The books up for discussion this year are:
“The Rug Merchant” by Meg Mullens. This is a moving, intelligent portrait of an Iranian immigrant as he struggles with the adjustment of life in New York, an improbable and powerful romance and his vision of the “American dream.” It is a melancholy story about shaking free from disappointment and finding connection and acceptance in whatever forms they appear.

“To All Appearances a Lady” by Marilyn Bowering. A many layered and carefully choreographed novel about a half-Chinese boat pilot and his reluctant journey of self-discovery through his family’s murky past. The secrets are slowly unveiled as the story shifts between Canada, China and California from the 1880’s to the 1950’s.

“Divisadero” by Michael Ondaatje. This novel explores a family living on a farm in Northern California in the 1970’s and the events that splinter the family when the young daughter becomes involved with a farmhand. The writing is both rhythmic and jarring and intertwines the inner and outer worlds of the characters with the “history-soaked” hills of California. Quietly underscoring this is the theme of the importance of memory and the need to preserve and revisit it within an inner space.

And “Broken Ground” by guest author, Jack Hodgins. A rich, complex and riveting exploration of the presence of the First World War in the lives of the inhabitants of a “soldier’s settlement” on Vancouver Island. It is a powerful novel that immerses us in the lives of an entire community and provides a profoundly moving affirmation of life and a declaration of faith in a century that has severly tested humanity’s spiritual resolve.

Guest author Jack Hodgins will be speaking on Sunday, September 21st at 11:00 am.

Perfect summer books. Read and come join us at the 5th Annual Kootenay Book Weekend, being held September 19, 20 & 21st in Nelson at the Best Western on Baker Street.

For more information visit our website at www.kootenaybookweekend.ca, call Victoria at 352-6197 or email kbw@kootenaybookweekend.ca.