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May 30, 2019
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Books of the Week - May 30, 2019
In the weekly Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Books of the Week, the Montreal bookstore recommends several new works of fiction, art books, periodicals, and comics.
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly is one of Montreal's premiere independent bookstores.
Meat and Bone by Kat Verhoeven
A neon-coloured examination of friendship, support, and survival in the big city from Toronto comic artist Kat Verhoeven. Meat and Bone follows three friends and their relationships to food and one another. It’s a thoughtful portrayal of how friendships and circumstances shape experiences in and of our bodies.
The Organs of Sense by Adam Ehrlich Sachs
This debut novel by Adam Ehrlich Sachs is a comic fable set in 1666 whose protagonist is the philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, age 19. As he investigates the apparently prodigious discoveries of a blind astronomer, the young polymath is drawn into a web of noble-family squabbles and obsessions. Described as a “madcap blend of philosophical malpractice and byzantine palace intrigue” and compared to the likes of Helen DeWitt and W.G. Sebald, The Organs of Sense announces a marvelous new voice in cerebral-comic literature.
Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta
Set in Toronto’s Little Jamaica area of Eglinton West, Frying Plantain follows Kara Davis, a second-generation Jamaican immigrant, through twelve interconnected stories that take her from girlhood to high school graduation. It’s a brilliant debut that artfully captures the tensions between Black identity and the prevailing whiteness of “Canadian” identity, between the cultural expectations of first-generation immigrants and their young children, and between mothers and daughters.
Dual Citizens by Alix Ohlin
In her fifth novel, Giller Prize finalist Alix Ohlin (who is also the chair of UBC’s Creative Writing Program) introduces us to Lark Brossard, a woman overshadowed by her temperamental mother, her piano-prodigy sister, and her employer/lover, a renowned filmmaker. When her relationship falls apart, she is forced to come to terms with her unrealized ambitions and thwarted desires in ways that draw her closer to her sibling. Shifting between Montreal and New York City, Dual Citizens is a dazzlingly insightful picture of two complicated women.
Wage Slaves by Daria Bogdanska
Warsaw-born, Malmö-based Daris Bogdabska’s autobiographical graphic novel tells the story of a young EU citizen discovering how difficult it can be to secure residency papers and a work permit. Having come to Sweden for art school, Bogdanska works under the table in an Indian restaurant, where the poor conditions lead her to spearhead a unionization drive. In a shaggy-yet-cute punk style that recalls Julie Doucet, Bogdanka captures the texture of young life and the urgency of political organization with sensitive realism, political anger, and a sense of fun.
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other Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Books of the Week
Antiheroines (interviews with up and coming female comics artists)
Atomic Books Comics Preview (weekly new comics and graphic novel highlights)
Book Notes (authors create music playlists for their book)
guest book reviews
musician/author interviews
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)
Short Cuts (writers pair a song with their short story or essay)
WORD Bookstores Books of the Week (weekly new book highlights)
