Reviewed by L.D.Y. Trade (available in mass market), 286 pages, 1920 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: I’m a big fan of Wharton’s book House of Mirth. Synopsis: Newland Archer seems to have everything – good social standing among his New York peers, the luxury of leading the life of a gentleman, and a sweet bride-to-be, […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Trade, 449 pages, 1997 Rating: 7/10 Reason for Reading: I initially noticed this one at a used bookstore, but wasn’t really intrigued by the war setting. After I saw the movie, though, which I really liked, I changed my mind. Synopsis: America’s civil war has divided a nation in thought and on […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 405 pages, 2003 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: The winner of the 2003 Giller Prize. Synopsis: Vikram Lall has fled to Toronto after finding himself at the top of Kenya’s List of Shame, but he’s haunted by reminders of his past. As he writes his memoirs, from growing […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Trade, 319 pages, 2003 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: Shortlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize. Synopsis: Kitty Wellington has recently lost a child, and combined with synaestesia, which causes her to see emotions as colours, things are beginning to seem overwhelming. On top of her own problems and desolation, she’s trying to […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 301 pages, 2001 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: A book I heard good things about, but forgot about until I saw it on the shelf at the library. Synopsis: Fuller, known to her friends as Bobo, tells the story of her childhood, where she grew up white in […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 277 pages, 2003 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: Winner of the 2003 Booker Prize, my personal favourite literary award. Synopsis: Vernon, a 15-year-old Texan, finds himself the town’s scapegoat after his friend Jesus carries out a Columbine-style shooting, leaving himself and sixteen students dead. Vernon refuses to give […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 456 pages, 2002 Rating: 9/10 Reason for Reading: A buzz book; I read Lives of the Saints for a high school English class and enjoyed it. Synopsis: A fictionalized account of the life of Jesus, told by four people – Yihuda, Miryam, his mother, and Simon, a Syrian […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 226 pages, 2002 Rating: 8/10 Reason for Reading: Longlisted for the 2003 Booker prize. Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Christopher, the narrator of the book, is autistic ‘ unable to comprehend human emotions, but absolutely brilliant mathematically and scientifically. When Christopher finds a neighbour’s dog murdered with a pitchfork, he decides […]

Reviewed by L.D.Y. Hardcover (available in trade), 258 pages, 2003 Rating: 10/10 Reason for Reading: Shortlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize. Synopsis: Sheba Hart, a 42-year-old school teacher, has been in the news lately – for her affair with a fifteen-year-old student. Her friend, Barbara Covett, narrates the story of Sheba’s love, betrayal, and the […]