The Book of Koli - M.R. Carey

I've enjoyed M.R. Carey's previous books. His latest is The Book of Koli - the first in The Rampart trilogy. It's a post apocalyptic novel, one of my favorite genres. (Although perhaps a bit scary to be reading at this time!)

Sometime in the future, the human race has been decimated. Small pockets of survivors live in their own fortified villages and encampments. Society has reverted to a much earlier time with survival being the goal. Nature has turned on humans, with predator plants and trees. Tech from the past is revered.

Young Koli lives in the barricaded settlement of Mythen Rood. He labors with his mother and sisters in the sawmill. But as he comes of age, he begins to question the way things are in his life and village. Traditions, hierarchies, roaming 'faceless' men and what might be beyond the bastions of Mythen Rood.....

I am always curious to see what an author has imagined for a post apocalyptic world. Carey has done a great job of world building. There are bits and pieces of language and roadmarkers that will give the reader hints to the past. The tech is the interesting part. Some of the technology has survived (although it's decades past what we have today) Just as interesting is the way this group has evolved, how their society works - and doesn't. Koli challenges this and the life he thought he would lead is forever changed.

Carey's foreshadowing makes for absolutely addictive reading! I couldn't help but read 'just one more chapter' 'til late at night. Koli's voice makes for wonderful storytelling. Adventure, danger and a coming of age tale fill the pages of The Book of Koli. 

Now, this is the first book of a trilogy. So, while it reaches a satisfying end, there is so much more to Koli's odyssey. And I can't wait to see what's in store. The Trials of Koli releases in September 2020 with The Fall of Koli coming out in 2021. Read an excerpt of The Book of Koli.

Bellevue Square - Michael Redhill

Bellevue Square is the latest book from Michael Redhill. It's also a Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalist.

The premise? A customer in Jean Mason's bookstore tells her that she has a double, a doppelganger. Jean is intrigued and heads to Bellevue Square (a park) to see if she too can see this woman.

I was intrigued by the idea of the double. And my interest was further piqued by this early line..."I put the phone away and at that exact moment a woman I would later be accused of murdering walked into my shop."

And with those two pieces, I thought I was in for a mystery. And I was - but the book certainly did not unfold in any way I could have predicted. There is so much more to Jean's tale. The facade that Jean presents to the world - and her family - has cracks in it.

Redhill's writing in Bellevue Square is fiendishly clever. The reader must pay close attention as Jean's world turns on a dime. What is truth? What is fiction? There is no way to tell as we see everything from Jean's viewpoint - and she is most definitely an unreliable narrator. Her mind is frightening, yet brilliant.

What I really enjoyed were the conversations and interactions between Jean and those that frequent Bellevue Square. While somewhat nonsensical at times, these interactions seem the closest to 'real' for Jean, often overshadowing the relationship with her husband and children.

Take your time reading Bellevue Square. There is much to consider as Jean seeks answers. There are hints and references dropped along the way that had me forming in my mind what I thought was 'the answer.' And I was wrong. I think I hooted out loud when I realized what was happening in the final chapters. I don't want to say anymore and spoil the book, but overlapping is a word I'll throw out there. I am still not sure if I completely 'got' everything that Redhill has woven into his book, as some of it is a bit confusing. In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Redhill mentions that Bellevue Square explores loss and "is about the surprising (and disturbing) plasticity of the self and what happens when the sense you've made of things stops making sense."

Bellevue Square is set in the streets and area around Kensington Market in Toronto. Redhill has lived and worked in the Toronto area for many years and his descriptions benefit from his first hand observations. References to Canadiana - Dominion grocery stores, Tim Hortons, Shopper's Drug Mart will be familiar to Canuck readers.

Inger Ash Wolfe is Redhill's nom de plume. I was delighted to find references to the Hazel Micallef books. And it was only on reading the acknowledgements that I discovered Bellevue Square is "part one of a Modern Ghost, a triptych." I will pick up the next book, as I truly want to see where and what could transpire next.

Thought provoking and fiendishly clever. Read an excerpt of Bellevue Square.