About Book Marks
Recent Reviews
Joanne Proulx
Rave The Globe and Mail What compelled me the most was Mia\'s struggle to parent a damaged boy who was almost a man ... children pass the point of wanting to be held by their mothers very quickly; there is a need to find ways to mother that don\'t involve the easiness of touch. This novel taught me that this will take work but isn\'t impossible. There is also a searing message here about the power imbalance that can happen in male/female relationships and the danger this can pose for everyone ... When I finished this novel, I wanted to tell everyone I knew to read it. It is one of the best, most important books I\'ve read in a very long time.
Sarah Winman
Rave The Globe and Mail Tin Man...contains all the complex characterization and emotional astonishments expected from her by now, but there are also departures from her trademark style. Gone is the somewhat more playful tone of her first two novels. There’s no magical realism to be found, but rather a drilling down through the cold layers of life ... There is much economy of language in this compact novel, yet Winman still manages to finely draw every character. These people on the page are like those sunflowers on the canvas: striving, drooping, wilting, dying—and more than what they seem ... all this is an impressive accomplishment, even for a novelist who already seemed to know the truth about humanity by heart and could spill it onto the page with ease.
Sujata Massey
Rave The Toronto Globe and Mail The story of the three widows and their children, who lead such an isolated existence in a bungalow on Malabar Hill Road, is parcelled out in tandem with Perveen's own story about a disastrous past she very nearly did not escape. Her tale is one that is just as absorbing as the murder mystery and has a quiet power all its own. Each thread is carefully paced; Massey clearly knows just what she's doing, which is giving readers both a captivating whodunit and a lasting base for more books featuring this same cast of characters.
Daisy Goodwin
Positive The Toronto Star ...because this novel has its roots in Victoria’s diaries — and because Goodwin is a Harkness scholar with a history degree from Cambridge — there is accuracy behind the airy prose ... Goodwin succeeds here. This is a deep exploration of a well-known character who hasn’t quite become who she’s going to be. Knowing about the television show, I found it difficult to read this novel without searching Google for the actors who play each vividly rendered character, but that’s not a bad thing at all ... Good historical fiction always relies on an alchemical blend of research and imagination; making the words flow in an easy manner is an admirable feat an author like Goodwin can make look much easier than it is.
Kim Addonizio
Positive The Toronto Star It takes bravery to be as honest, and as tart, as Addonizio is, even in the face of the reproach that comes when you tell the whole truth instead of pretending. This kind of writing flies in the face of our societal preference for curated Instagram feeds and selective Facebook posts. And this kind of writing will be off-putting to some — but I found it refreshing ... These are the writings of a brave woman ... But familial pain, drinking too much, emotional instability: these are only part of a writing life. Addonizio also sheds elegant light on her encounters with language, the meaning of poetry and what it really means to be a writer.
Cathleen Schine
Rave The Toronto Star This is one of those laugh-out-loud-on-the-subway novels, but it also manages to be sad and authentic ... tender, wise, hilarious and painful. Give this book to your siblings and your parents: everyone will find a passage to love. And if you argue, so be it. At least you still have each other to argue with.