Susan Swan

I'll be honest: I read this book but I am not sure exactly what to make of it. It's a collection of short pieces about women and their relationships with men-- with their boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, husbands, acquaintances, one night stands, random strangers, etc. The first half of the book contains short stories in a more traditional format while the second half, titled "Cyber Tales", is a collection of internet postings by famous historical women (Aphrodite, Marilyn Monroe, Catherine the show more Great, etc.) in a chat room where they discuss their love lives. I love the idea of the "Cyber Tales", it's incredibly imaginative and I liked this section better than the first half of the book. As for the stories themselves, I found them sometimes funny, sometimes quirky though I felt some of them went over my head or I had trouble relating. I have a sneaking suspicion I'd enjoy this book a lot more if I was older and had more life experience. show less

Catchy story about quirky students at a girl's boarding school, with some weird plot twists. The main character has a polio "hump" that she names Alice, she thinks JFK is her surrogate father, her roommate wants a sex change, and she gets caught up in an erotic cult that worships King Kong! The gender issues and paths to self-discovery are novell for a coming of age story but it is a little too whacky at times.

I received a copy of this from the Goodreads First Reads program.

I don't know what I expected from this book, but what that was is not what I got. I immediately noticed that the book was originally published in 2005 and this worried me a little. Then I noticed that several Canadian newspapers rated it rather highly, so I curled up on the sofa with cup of tea at hand and read...and read.

I was fortunate that it was a week end as I did not want to put the book down. I wouldn't call it an show more edge-of-your-seat-page-turner, but my interest in the protagonist - Luce and her ancestor - Asked For (yes, that is her name) parallel lives in Venice and Greece never waned. Armed with her ancestor's journal Luce reluctantly navigates through the Mediterranean with her late mother's partner. Asked For's writings serve Luce as both a therapeutic tool to cope with her mother's death, and and a means of encouragement in finding a partner worthy of her love.

Swan elegantly intertwines Luce's and Asked For's stories in ways that render even the blustering Lee Pronski likable. For his part, Casanova is quite simply a conduit for all of these women to realise their potential and who they really are.

As it turns out, I am quite pleased to have a read a 7 year old book that I had never heard of. show less

This is the story of a 12-year-old girl (Mary) growing up in rural Ontario. Her father is the town doctor who works far too much to have much time for her. She is being raised by her aunt Louie and her father's former nurse, Sal. John Pilkie, a former NHL star judged criminally insane after the death of his wife and baby, comes to stay at the local mental institution. Mary's relationship with John at this formative time in her life is what drives the story.

This is a comfortable read in the show more sense that the setting is recognizably Canadian and the story includes the Leafs/Canadiens rivalry and a long, cold winter. Well written. Good, not great. show less