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10 Canadian Fiction Favorites

a book list by Lesley, bookworm and blogger at A Life in Books

Although I now live in the Southern United States, I'm originally from Canada, and so my personal library is peppered with books by Canadian authors. The list below is a rather random sampling of some of my favorites. Some of these titles will be familiar to most, others are little known... but all are great books from the canon of Canadian literature.

The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood

Aimee Dars Ellis says:

One of my favorite books of all time, "The Handmaid's Tale," presents a dystopian future in which the United States government is taken over by a far-right religious faction.

Men loyal to the cause are given positions in the government. Women, on the other hand, are limited in their options — they can be Marthas, Wives, Handmaids, or Hookers with few exceptions. Government officials and their wives need handmaids because of a population crisis in which most women are unable to conceive.

The book tells the story of one Handmaid, her confined life, and how she arrived at this point. Beautifully written, this book is as relevant today as when it was written.

 
 
Not Wanted on the Voyage

Not Wanted on the Voyage

by Timothy Findley

A surreal retelling of the story of Noah and the Ark that's both provocative and subversive.

 
 
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams

by Wayne Johnston

A work of historical fiction that focuses on the early life of Joey Smallwood, the man who brought Newfoundland into the Canadian fold, and his romance with Sheila, a woman haunted by her past.

 
 
Fall On Your Knees

Fall On Your Knees

by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Kaye Mitchell from Austin, Texas says:

Disturbingly captivating. If you like a story that grabs you by your shirt and pulls you in — and you are brave — check this out. As Oprah said to the author, "Where on earth did this come from?"

This book also appears on Oprah's Book Club
 
 
Burden of Desire

Burden of Desire

by Robert MacNeil

A supremely engrossing historical novel that takes place during the time of the Halifax Explosion, one of the most devastating events in Canadian history.

 
 
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Anne of Green Gables

by L.M. Montgomery

Leah Smith from Burtonsville, MD says:

Who doesn't love this story of the delightful red-headed orphan on Prince Edward Island? If you don't, you certainly aren't a "kindred spirit" of mine.

 
 
Open Secrets: Stories

Open Secrets: Stories

by Alice Munro

The stories feature women harboring secrets, their lives shadowed by deceptions, both real and imagined. Munro effortlessly mixes reality with illusion, sometimes not letting the reader know which is which.

 
 
The Bird Artist

The Bird Artist

by Howard Norman

A cast of eccentric characters accentuates this “Newfoundland Gothic” story of betrayal, murder, love lost, and found.

This book also appears on In Honor of Darwin, A Menagerie of Species
 
 
As for Me and My House

As for Me and My House

by Sinclair Ross, Robert Kroetsch

An understated novel that takes place in a small, Depression-era Prairie town, examining the dynamics within a marriage amid the constraints of small-town life.

 
 
Changing Heaven

Changing Heaven

by Jane Urquhart

This unusual novel incorporates Emily Bronte and her novel "Wuthering Heights" into the storyline, which includes elements of magical realism with modern-day characters and a romantic plot.

 
 

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