Off the Page
A blog on Canadian writing, reading, and everything in between
9 Canadian Writers Who Run with the Night
A recommended reading list by the founder and publisher of Pedlar Press, whose new novel is Instructor.
Apocalypses, Quests, and Survival
A great list of books for middle-grade readers by author of new novel Trip of the Dead.
The Chat with Eva Crocker
This week we’re in conversation with author Eva Crocker. Her debut novel, All I Ask, (House of Anansi Press) was publi …
Mary Lawson: A Sense of Place
"I don’t know if it’s a Canadian thing, or if people the world over are similarly drawn to the landscape they know w …
Most Anticipated: Our Books for Young Readers Preview
Looking forward to some of the books for young readers (and readers of all ages) that we're going to be falling in love …
I Read Canadian Day is back!
It’s back! After a very successful first year where authors, students, educators, librarians, parents and many other C …
Notes From a Children's Librarian: Scrumptious Stories
DELICIOUS books about food and eating.
The Kids: Are They Alright?
What is it like for a child who lives with a parent or who knows an adult struggling with a crisis of mental health, add …
Where It All Happened: A List of Propulsive Settings
Anyone who's read Emma Donoghue's The Pull of the Stars knows just how much the confines of that understaffed maternity …
Seeking Certainty in Uncertain Worlds
A fascinating recommended reading list by the author of new book Night Watch.
Results for keyword: “a town called solace”
Mary Lawson: A Sense of Place
When my first book, Crow Lake, came out, one reviewer commented that the landscape was so central to the story that it was to all intents and purposes another character. That’s how it felt while I was writing it too. All of my novels—including my latest, A Town Called Solace—are set in Northern Ontario, and the landscape is absolutely fundamental to them.
I don’t know if it’s a Canadian thing, or if people the world over are similarly drawn to the landscape they know well, but it seems to me that the wilder and more inhospitable the terrain, the more it gets its hooks into you. Similarly, when it comes to towns and cities, the more remote and restricting the place, the greater the effect it seems to have—at least, if you’re a writer.
The books I have chosen below all have a powerful sense of place, either in terms of the landscape or of the community where they are set. In addition to that, they are all terrific reads!
I don’t know if it’s a Canadian thing, or if people the world over are similarly drawn to the landscape they know well, but it seems to me that the wilder and more inhospitable the terrain, the more it gets its hooks into you.
*****
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Mary Lawson: A Sense of Place
When my first book, Crow Lake, came out, one reviewer commented that the landscape was so central to the story that it was to all intents and purposes another character. That’s how it felt while I was writing it too. All of my novels—including my latest, A Town Called Solace—are set in Northern Ontario, and the landscape is absolutely fundamental to them.
I don’t know if it’s a Canadian thing, or if people the world over are similarly drawn to the landscape they know well, but it seems to me that the wilder and more inhospitable the terrain, the more it gets its hooks into you. Similarly, when it comes to towns and cities, the more remote and restricting the place, the greater the effect it seems to have—at least, if you’re a writer.
The books I have chosen below all have a powerful sense of place, either in terms of the landscape or of the community where they are set. In addition to that, they are all terrific reads!
I don’t know if it’s a Canadian thing, or if people the world over are similarly drawn to the landscape they know well, but it seems to me that the wilder and more inhospitable the terrain, the more it gets its hooks into you.
*****
