Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Jeffrey Round reviews No Beautiful Shore, Other Men's Sons

From time to time we'll be posting reviews of our titles. Standard, right?

Not quite.

What makes our reviews special is that they'll be written by other Cormorant authors, offering a perspective you won't get from your typical book review.

Generously providing us with our inaugural reviews is Jeffrey Round, author of The P-Town Murders. Without any further ado, here's Jeff:

The intrepid Jeffrey Round

No Beautiful Shore
By Beverly Stone

Jeff: God, I love a woman who can swear! And Beverley Stone is right up there with the best of them. This beautiful, disturbing book is one of the most honest tales of contemporary Newfoundland I’ve come across. Part-Trailer Park Boys and part-Thelma and Louise, it’s an account of teenagers Bride Marsh and Wanda Stuckless’s attempt to leave out-port Newfoundland for life in Toronto, a challenge much bigger than it sounds. Bride is the sexy one who gets hit on by men, while Wanda is the entrepreneurial tomboy who sells dope to make her passage ‘away.’ Both prove hindrances to their goal. A sharp blend of the comic and tragic, Stone’s story is filled with wisdom, insight and some very deft writing.



Other Men's Sons

By Michael Rowe

Jeff: Other Men’s Sons is the 2008 Randy Shilts Award-winning book of creative non-fiction by Torontonian Michael Rowe. The writing is intelligent and witty and the subjects varied—from the title essay about Michael and his partner’s attending the wedding of their "adopted" straight son (whom they met when he was 19), through an essay about a young woman who grew up in a supportive gay environment and had to learn to contend with other people’s homophobia, to the story of Pvt. Barry Winchell, murdered by a fellow soldier when it was discovered Winchell was dating a transsexual. Each of these pieces is insightful and beautifully written but, perhaps best of all, the book is uplifting despite its sometimes tragic themes.

***

Thanks, Jeff! If you'd like to read more of his reviews, blog, and other projects, check out his official site.

Coming soon: A Q&A with Kathlyn Bradshaw, author of the fantastic upcoming horror-mystery, The Frankenstein Murders.

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