Dead Man in the Orchestra Pit by Tom Osborne (Anvil Press)

Dead Man in the Orchestra Pit is a hilarious novel about a caper that goes terribly wrong over Grey Cup weekend in Vancouver. Told at breakneck speed, Osborne delivers a stunner with a cast of miscreant Canuck characters cut loose amidst booze and flying hotel mattresses.

Heaping Stones by Rob Woodard (Burning Shore Press)

Heaping Stones is an honest, unrelenting, blunt and sexual novel about a man climbing out of one sunken relationship into another that is depraved and exploitive, then to another that rights and saves him.

The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin (Faber & Faber)

The Motel Life is a beautiful story of two down-and-out brothers in Reno bonded by poverty, violence and bad luck. Told in sparse but humorous prose, the book is also finely illustrated.

The Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq (Knopf)

Houellebecq is being called the best French writer since Céline. I agree - he's the first French writer in decades to mix conviction, biting realism and style like the old mad doctor did. This new one is a gem.

Hope and Other Urban Tales by Laura Hird (Canongate)

Hope and Other Urban Tales shows women can punch as hard as men. Hird's stories of Edinburgh's forgotten, desperate, drunken lasses and louts has power and nuance in equal measure. One of the U.K.'s best writers.

Inside by Kenneth J. Harvey (Random House Canada)

Inside is Kenneth J. Harvey's most accessible and successful novel to date. It's a survivor's story of redemption that is crisply human.

A Small Dog Barking by Robert Strandquist (Anvil Press)

A Small Dog Barking demonstrates that short story collections can have as much kick, variety, humour and despair as any novel. Strandquist's characters stick to the bottom of your shoe.

Flight by Michael Bryson (Mercutio Press)

Flight is a chapbook among the finery. Why not? This single story chapbook has it all: imagination, struggle and characters forced to find themselves. Bryson is a Canadian writer who deserves a bigger audience. Until then, this small book is a keeper.

King by Tanya Chapman (Coach House Books)

King is lighter than the rest here, but hey, they can't all be blunt and brash. Her novel of trailer park romance summons an era of clarity some might want to remember and others might want to forget.

Joyland by Emily Schultz (ECW Press)

Joyland plots similar terrain to King. It, too, centres on small-town goings-on, this time in a bygone age marked by video arcades, crappy '80s music and misplaced love.

The Five Hole Stories by Dave Bidini (Brindle & Glass Publishing)

The Five Hole Stories blends hockey and sex. That's right, hockey and sex. Bidini's stories gush hockey insider shenanigans and passion.

Short Dog by Dan Fante (Sun Dog Press)

For my money, Fante is the best ballsy writer out there, bar none. He channels the ghosts of Bukowski, Selby and his old man through his own bright and bold vision.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Knopf)

McCarthy is a heavyweight writer like no other. Those who know his work know big themes and conflicts are at its heart. The Road is likely his last book. It's a desperate story set in a bleak, post-apocalyptic era. But realism is at its core; there's nothing futuristic or fluffy here. A man and his son wander an insane world, clinging to life. They encounter brutal violence and small slices of humanity. This is dark matter from a writer who has always gazed into the black human heart and never blinked.






 
 

		Write your comment on this article!

The Road     Thanks for all the book suggestions, I'm always looking for new stuff to read and your recommendations look interesting. The only book on your list that I have read is, 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy. This was my first time reading one of his books. It has definitely made my list of "best books ever" and I am eager to seek out his prior works. It's not that the book was particularly enjoyable, it was heartbreaking and bleak, but it evoked so many emotions in me. That is a sign of a great piece of art in my opinion. The author paints a very vivid picture of two main characters, a man and his son walking to an unknown destination for an unknown reason. Details such as character names, locations and how they got there are absent, but nonetheless you are pulled into this morbid day to day existence that the man and son are struggling to live through. This story of a tale gone to ash will strike a chord with anyone who has concerns about our future on this planet.
Josee Lacroix		January 22nd, 2007

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