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Art & Books Books

You have to read these books by Canadian authors this fall

After James

by Michael Helm ($34.95, McClelland & Stewart)

Helm’s exquisite new fiction contains stories about three separate characters linked by themes of paranoia, political intrigue, loss and the impact of a powerful designer drug. The prose gives you the feeling of an extended hallucination as described by a thor-oughly lucid poet. Let it wash over you. I’m hoping the publisher chose not to submit this to the Giller jury. There’s no other excuse for its being left it off this year’s long list. On sale now.

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The Wonder

by Emma Donoghue ($32.99, HarperCollins)

Fresh off her Academy Award nomination for the screenplay based on her novel Room, Donoghue fashions a gothic cocktail set in Ireland just after the famine. Eleven year-old Anna has been fasting for four months but appears to be in fine health. Ostensibly distressed at the way Anna’s “miracle” has been exploited for financial gain, a committee hires nurse Lib to determine whether the child is a fraud. The Wonder has a little bit of everything: creepiness, meticulous attention to period detail and a tender relationship between Lib and Anna. Donoghue appears at the International Festival of Authors on October 28. On sale September 20. 

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Fearless As Possible

by Denise Donlon ($32, Anansi)

Having parked herself in the executive offices of MuchMusic, Sony Music Ca-nada and the CBC, Donlon has a lot to remember. Her memoir is laced with pointed anecdotes about how these cultural institutions coped with change, to say nothing of how she’s managed to negotiate her way through male-dominated board rooms since the early 80s. And can we be frank? She drops names with the best of them. In stores November 5.

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The Parcel

by Anosh Irani ($32, Knopf)

Irani takes readers into the depths of Mumbai’s teeming Kamathipura district, whose economy depends on prostitution bordering on slavery. The story centres on eunuch and former sex worker Madhu – now a beggar and sometime aid to a powerful madam – who is called on to groom a pre-teen Nepalese girl for work in the brothel. Sounds grim, but Irani’s ear is attuned to the raucous humour of the sex workers as they do what they can to maintain their dignity. A harsh dose of reality administered with wit and clarity. On sale now.

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The Clay Girl

by Heather Tucker ($18.95, ECW)

Tucker’s story tracks the extraordinary early life of Ari, a young girl sent down east to her supposedly scary aunts after a family tragedy, and then back to Toronto to live with her irresponsible mother. A tribute to the power of a child’s imagination, The Clay Girl evokes the 60s era of sex and drugs in powerful, poetic prose in what could be the debut novel of the year. On sale October 11.

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The Secret Loves Of Geek Girls

edited by Hope Nicholson ($19.99, Dark Horse)

Nicholson knew her self-published comic book collection of stories from geeky women about love and sex needed a wider audience. Dark Horse Books agreed and snapped it up. Read these clever tales by women as diverse as Margaret Atwood, Mariko Tamaki, Natalie ZIna Walschots and many more. On sale October 18.

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The Witches Of New York

by Ami McKay ($34.95, Random House)

McKay’s clever tale set in 1880s New York City pits three women skilled in the art of witchcraft against the fundamentalist extremists who see them as evil incarnate. McKay eschews earnestness in favour of a wicked wit and, having deeply researched her material – as usual – she vividly brings the period to life, especially the New Yorkers, society matrons most of them, who availed themselves of the witches’ arts. On sale October 25.

susanc@nowtoronto.com | @susangcole

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