I’m not much of a short story reader, so I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy Home of the Floating Lily. It turns out that the short story format was perfect for reading during my lunch break, and this collection was lovely company as I returned to working in the office. Silmy Abdullah’s stories feature ordinary people — Bangladeshi immigrants who navigate love, life, and relationships as they build a new home in Canada.

Perhaps among my favourite stories is one about a woman who moved to Canada with her husband to build a better life for her sons, only to have both sons grow up to defy her dreams and expectations for their lives. While she dreamed of them becoming wealthy and successful doctors, one rebels against his conservative upbringing, and the so-called ‘good son’ desires a more spiritual path to success. Abdullah does a good job of exploring the mother’s complex emotions — more stress and anxiety than outright disappointment, and all mixed up in her own feelings of alienation in Canada. I love how the mother’s longing to return to Bangladesh isn’t because of any particular incident or experience in Canada; Bangladesh is simply her home in a way that Canada never quite felt like.

I also really liked the story of a young wife in an apartment complex with other Bangladeshi immigrants, who learns something surprising about her husband’s past that has implications for their present. Again, Abdullah explores the young wife’s alienation and loneliness in wonderfully subtle strokes, managing to covey expansive stories even with something as mundane as doing laundry in a shared space. I related hard to the young wife’s desire to connect with one of her older neighbours, and I felt even more for her when she had to process what she’s learned about her husband.

Another favourite is the story of the young student who comes home to Bangladesh and finds herself viewing the domestic helper working for her family in a new light. The student’s attempts to ’empower’ the domestic helper is well-intentioned, but highly privileged. The  resulting fallout for both herself and the domestic helper turns a harsh spotlight onto the narrow-mindedness of imposing a Western lens onto one’s country of origin. As well-intentioned as the student is, the story ends with her never really seeing the domestic helper for who she is, and for what she needs; rather, the student sees her only as a cause to champion, and in so doing, becomes complicit in the very treatment she protests.

The titular story didn’t quite grab my attention as much, though it’s possibly just because it’s a bit longer than the others. But overall, the stories are wonderfully written, and the characters are drawn with sensitive realism. It’s a beautiful read.

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Thank you to Dundurn Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Replacement Wife had such a great hook: Elisa’s brother-in-law Josh has a dead wife and a missing fiancee, so when he brings home a new girlfriend, Rachel, Elisa is understandably concerned about Rachel’s safety. Making matters worse, Josh says and does things that seem to cast doubts on Elisa’s sanity, and even Elisa’s husband Harris seems inclined to believe his brother over her. Set-up-wise, there are so many things about this thriller that hooked me right in.

Unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me. I like that the author set up multiple examples of how Josh gaslights Elisa, and I like that the author sets Elisa herself up as an unreliable narrator, so that even we, as readers, are sometimes unsure whether or not we should believe Elisa’s version of reality. However, after a while, the story started to feel repetitive. The series of incidents were intended to escalate the tension, but mostly, they made the book feel long, and at times, even boring. Part of it may be that I never really believed that Elisa had lost her grip on reality, versus other novels with unreliable narrators, for example, Girl on the Train, which really kept me off-balance throughout. So I felt there was little doubt from the start that Josh was a bad guy, and while I shared Elisa’s frustration that Harris couldn’t see it, I felt more impatient than anything.

I did like the bit of uncertainty the author set up about another character, and whether they were friend or foe to Elisa, but again, I was disappointed by the way this plot line played out. The reveal felt convoluted, and the resulting fallout felt rushed. It got to a point when even I wasn’t sure whether or not Elisa believed the reveal, and while I’m all for twisty and suspenseful climaxes, in this case, confusion just removed me from the story. Elisa’s behaviour during the big climactic confrontation made no sense to me, given the build-up, and while the eventual resolution did tie up loose ends, I just ended up frustrated at Elisa herself. The ending felt like a cheat, and not in a good, twist-filled way that leaves me breathless. Rather, it all just felt messy, and worse, the build-up to it wasn’t even gripping enough to make the ending all that disappointing.

It wasn’t a horrible book. It felt a bit slow, but I was interested in finding out what happens to the characters, and whether the friend-or-foe character actually was friend or foe to Elisa. Up until the climax, I would’ve considered this novel a solid, if somewhat underwhelming, 3 star thriller. But the ending just took me right out of the story, and I wish it had been handled better.

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Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Waffles and Pancake: Planetary YUM is an adorably nerdy graphic novel for children (ages 6+), that takes us back in time to when Waffles, the brave-but-hungry pilot from Drew Brockington’s Catstronauts series, was a kitten. In Planetary YUM, Dad-Cat takes Waffles and his sister Pancake to the big city science museum, where they learn about dino-cats, constellations, and the science behind hairballs. But then the kittens get separated from Dad-Cat, and face the possibility: what if they’re stuck in the museum… forever?

I love cats, space, and museums, so this graphic novel just straight-up made me happy. The illustrations are adorable, and I love how excited the kittens got over the tuna melt and star tots at the museum cafeteria. The museum visit includes fun highlights — the 4D hairball display was hilarious, the section on constellations was both educational and adorable, and, knowing that Waffles grows up to become a catstronaut, the part where they learn about Neil Pawstrong’s moon landing was especially exciting. How many kids will read this book and realize how much they want to work in space, or at a museum? Lots, I hope!

I also love how casually the book mentions Cat-Dad and Cat-Mom being separated. I’m old enough to remember how big a deal it felt seeing divorce represented as no big deal in The Baby-Sitters Club, so I’m glad that even younger readers can now see it in books such as this.

Author Q&A

Even more awesome is how much the author’s love of space shines through! Drew has flown a Space Shuttle, repaired the International Space Station, and served in Mission Control; all during a week at Space Camp.

Drew Brockington, Photo by Joanne Brockington