The Fake by Zoe Whittall

The Fake by Zoe Whittall is a page turner in the best sense, you will just have to keep reading to see how this unbelievable novel plays out. The lead character, Cammie, is scamming two quite damaged people, Gibson the unconfident, recently divorced man in his late 30s, and Shelby, who is ridden with anxiety and deeply grieving her wife who recently passed.  Gibson and Shelby don’t know each other yet but their lives will soon unexpectedly merge. Cammie barges onto the scene like a ball of fire bringing a joie de vie right at the moment that both of these characters need it the most.

Whittall’s portrayal of Cammie is intoxicating and it makes you want to be in her presence; her writing draws you in the same way that Cammie’s stories do.

However, Cammie is indeed too good to be true and soon several characters, including Gibson and Shelby themselves, start to realize that something is off.  The details of Cammie’s personal stories just don’t add up. Will all of Cammie’s lies be uncovered? Will she be exposed as a fraud? You’ll want to borrow The Fake to find out.

Cocktail by Lisa Alward

One of my other favourite picks is a debut effort, a collection of short stories that I have been savoring of late, entitled Cocktail by Lisa Alward. Her collection of stories is beautifully written and echoes elements of Alice Munro’s work.  Like Munro, Alward’s tales allow you to step into a character’s shoes for brief moments as she presents glimpses of the everyday and situations that almost never resolve perfectly.  For instance, the titular story “Cocktail” is about a girl’s experience of the cocktail parties that her parents would host in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Told in first person, the girl’s reality is, of course, a very different one from the grown-ups attending the soirees. Alward allows us to step back in time with stories like this and with a sparsity to her writing style she still manages to create full and complete characters and settings. It’s remarkable to experience the nostalgia that she conjures here in less than 20 pages. 

One of the things that I love the most about reading Canadian works is that I often connect with the locations and places mentioned in the writing.  Alward’s short story “Wise Men Say,” which is a wonderful look at first loves, expectations and regret, is in part set in Waterloo.  Two characters even meet up at Jack’s Family Restaurant in St. Jacobs.  It’s always fun to find a local shout out in a book, isn’t it? 

Roaming by Jillian Tamaki

My final new Canadian recommendation is the charming graphic novel Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki.  The premise here is that two childhood best friends, Dani and Zoe, who are now attending different universities, meet up in New York City during a school break. Dani ends up bringing along a new school pal which sparks all sorts of interesting drama.  

Roaming was devised by a cousin duo, Jillian bringing the illustrations and Mariko the text, and the two of them do an incredible job creating a very visceral experience of the Big Apple circa 2009.  You feel like you can taste the pizza and see the neon lights as you read through this tale of friendship, crushes and firsts.  At over 400 pages, the book is hefty, but I promise that you will breeze through it as these characters are so easy to relate to and you will want to live this epic few days right along side them.