A novel that, less than a year ago, was without a Canadian publisher has won the country’s most prestigious literary prize. Esi Edugyan’s Half-Blood Blues, about a jazz musician who disappears in Nazi-occupied France, was awarded the $50,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize Tuesday evening, capping an unlikely run that has seen the Calgary-born novelist rise from […]
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A Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Church of Lies by Flora Jessop
My reading plan was derailed when Church of Lies by Flora Jessop and Paul T. Brown came in from the library. I put down The Book Thief and picked up Church of Lies, just to have a look at it. My look ended when I finished the book. This is a non-fiction memoir of Flora […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Late Bloomers: Jose Saramago
I’ve always thought of Jose Saramago as a prolific, accomplished and successful literary writer, someone elevated, and not even enviable because he deserved it all. So I was astonished and heartened to discover that Saramago is a late bloomer. Sure, his first book came out when he was young but then there was a 20 […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Advance Quotes!
[A]stonishing, shocking, loving…Step into this novel and you will find yourself submerged; wake from it, and you will find yourself transformed. Web of Angels is a rare gift, perfectly named; within this novel, Lilian Nattel has offered us the work, the weave, of angels. An important book. Groundbreaking, demanding, brave and beautiful. Unforgettable fiction. Brilliant. […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: You Are My Only by Beth Kephart
You Are My Only is a gorgeously written YA novel. That’s the first thing I want you to know about it. The second thing is that I couldn’t put it down. I read it in a day, ignoring my children. My older daughter, age 13, curious about my absorption, examined the cover and picked up […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: A Better World for Books
The literacy mission at Better World Books isn’t something that’s tacked on — it’s always been part of our DNA. Starting August 15, 2011, we are making an additional commitment to a simple system: You buy, we donate – Book for BookTM. I just heard about this site through GoodReads. Shipping is free worldwide, and […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: On Writing
Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren’t. I’m not surprised some people prefer books. Books make sense of life. The only problem is that the lives they make sense of are other people’s lives, never your own. (Flaubert’s […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Writing and Weeping
I intended to post my report about Scrivener yesterday, and I have photos from my Thanksgiving walk to upload. But instead I imported a document to Scrivener. It was a book I began months ago but had to put aside while working with my publisher on Web of Angels. Yesterday I looked at the few […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Interview with Margaret Laurence Part II
A critic once said of A Jest of God that Rachel really wasn’t worth writing about because she was no more interesting than anybody you might sit next to in the streetcar. And I thought that doesn’t say much about the book but it says a lot about that critic. (- Margaret Laurence) It’s interesting […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Interview with Margaret Laurence, Part I
In a sense writing a novel is a sort of discovery . You know more or less where you’re headed but everything could change in the doing of it. And, you know, you can be very surprised. (- Margaret Laurence) This video interview dates from 1966 when Margaret Laurence was 40 years old and on […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: My Memories of the Literary Triumverate
When I was a teenager, 3 great literary icons were coming into prominence, all of them women writers: Margaret Laurence, Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood. Of these Margaret Laurence was the oldest, and her writing career was a relatively brief flash. Her best known books were written in one decade, her last novel published when […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Writing Again
I have 2 projects on the go–a fun idea and a serious one. However, from past experience, I know that fun can morph into serious and serious can take a completely different turn from where I begin. So this time I have no expectations of where I’ll end up with either or perhaps with something […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: A Sweet New Year
Rosh Hashanah starts tonight, the Jewish New Year, and in celebration we’ll dip apples in honey to ensure a sweet new year for us and all our friends, online and offline. Have a wonderful one, dear friends. From The River Midnight: The village of Blaszka has reached the final moment of Yom Kippur. The Rabbi […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: New Blog!
Writers have so many ways of procrastinating. But this one is constructive and has a higher purpose…seriously. I was inspired by the bookclub Slaves of Golconda. When I was asked to suggest a few books for our next reading, I thought it would be fun and interesting to come up with a list of recent, […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: First Reading of Web of Angels
This was on my desk when I arrived home yesterday. I’d spent most of the day at the first McLaughlin Literary Festival in Oshawa, all of my wired energy drained by the time I got home. And then this, made by my younger daughter, and pointed out to me by my older daughter. It was […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: I’m Reading in Oshawa
This Sunday, the 18th, I’ll be reading at 2:50 at the First McLaughlin Literary Festival! I’ll be reading from The Singing Fire and talking about Web of Angels. Location: Parkwood Estates. I hope to see some of you there!
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A Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: epic rap: dr. seuss vs shakespeare
Filed under: Fun, Literary
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: The Lizard Cage: A review
Every once in a while, I read a book that I want to tell everyone to read. The Lizard Cage by Karen Connelly is one of those novels. These are the reasons why: It’s beautifully written. It’s about an important subject. It’s stayed with me. It’s made me more aware of all I can be […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Making a Difference: You Are My Only by Beth Kephart
You Are My Only releases October 25th. For two weeks if you help spread the word about You Are My Only, you will be entered to win a prize! All the details are at Chick Loves Lit right now. This little project is organized by There’s a Book, Bookalicious, Chick Loves Lit, and myself. via […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: NEW WEBSITE!
I’ve been MIA for several weeks while working on my new website! I am so excited about it because I’ve wanted to have something like this for ages–more interactive and connected and rich. I bought a template and did it all myself with much trial and error. I’m still working on the contact form, but […]
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