Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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“She wondered, for the thousandth time, who got to decide one tradition was right and another was wrong.”

The Butchers' Blessing by Ruth Gilligan

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What makes a tradition a tradition? How and when do we pass from routine to ritual, and ritual to sacred rite? How do we decide what it kept, what is left behind, and what must be destroyed for the good of the future? Ruth Gilligan knows, but she will not give us any easy answers. Instead, she gives us snapshots; a literal photograph  sets us in motion, but glimpses into the life of “modern Ireland” connect the pieces by stringing one red knot to another. […]

I have never read anything as bleak or upsetting

The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock

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[TRIGGER WARNING: Violence, sexual violence, animal abuse] I have written and rewritten a summary of the plot of this book, and I end up in one of two camps: either I have written nothing substantial that would be worth keeping or I have written 4-5 paragraphs to explain everything. Author Donald Ray Pollock has created stories that weave and connect back on each in such incredible ways that it is difficult to summarize. I’ve decided on the insubstantial camp. The book tells the story of […]

“Being poor, living in poverty, seemed a lot like probation – the crime being a lack of means to survive.”

Maid by Stephanie Land

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This was good, but I’m not going to shout to the rooftops over it. I can’t say I was really disappointed by expectations on this one, because I didn’t have any. It was only until about halfway through that I found myself wishing the book was something else, and that’s not the author’s fault. The cover and blurb are sort of misleading. This isn’t a book about what it’s like to be a maid, with hard-hitting social criticism or research. It’s a straight-up memoir about […]

A bit like “About a Boy”, except here the Hugh Grant character is a heroin addict

Sangen om en brukket nese (The Ballad of a Broken Nose) by Arne Svingen

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4.5 stars Bart is about to turn thirteen. He’s named after Bart Simpson, because it seems his mother wanted him to be tough and clever and able to handle himself. This is also why she’s signed him up for boxing lessons. He dutifully  goes to practise several times a week, and one of these days, he may actually start hitting. His boxing coach suggests he may want to try out for some other sport, which Bart can understand, as except for having a pretty good […]

I’d like to be/under the sea

The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden

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Zoey doesn’t have time to finish her schoolwork. It’s not that she doesn’t care – she does. It’s not that she isn’t smart – she is. But being responsible for the care of her three preschool siblings while mom’s working means she doesn’t have time for things that other kids have time for.  It would be easier for Zoey, she thinks, if she was an octopus. Eight legs to juggle her siblings and help around the house. The ability to camouflage when her teacher eyes […]



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