Season's Readings

Pages worth turning

I’ve been sharing a lot about writing here, but for the holidays I wanted to share a bit of what I’ve been reading as well. This is not a best of 2023 list - one of the things I like about the production and consumption of books is that they aren’t just for one year - but rather a few of the books that were able to keep my attention all the way to the end.

The list starts with three Africa-related titles, some Saskatchewan TB history, four books from folks I reconnected with on the book tour trail, and a couple more just for fun. But first - after this brief word from our sponsors - the debut novel from one of Saskatchewan’s best-known non-fiction writers.

---

That copy of A Healthy Future you were hoping for wasn’t in your stocking?

Today, Dec. 29, is the last day to order at 20% off using the discount code 0909-20 at http://www.ubcpress.ca/a-healthy-future.

---

Now on to our list:

1. The Economy of Sparrows - Trevor Herriot

Trevor Herriot is a Saskatchewan author, naturalist and bird expert. His first novel uses the economic impacts of different sparrow species –  as described by William Spreadborough, a 19th century bird collector whose life took a tragic turn – to provoke reflection on the interaction between the natural and industrial world. The novel traces the story of Nell, a woman from the Indian Head, and her relationship with the birds and, less comfortably, the people of her part of the prairies. The book has been described as eco-fiction, with a little magical realism thrown in from a young girl who can communicate with animals. While Herriot’s expertise and passions are on display, The Economy of Sparrows manages to avoid the worst errors of the genre, with the novel working as a story and not just a didactic vehicle for the author’s point of view.

---

2. She Plays with the Darkness - Zakes Mda

Zakes Mda’s father was A.P. Mda, an anti-apartheid activist and one of the founders of the ANC Youth League. The family was exiled to Lesotho when Zakes was a boy, he later became one of South Africa’s most prolific and prominent novelists. She Plays with the Darkness tells the story of Dikosha and her twin brother Radisene, born in a mountain village near Maseru. As they grow up, she comes to commune with ancient spirits in the mountains, he pursues a life of wealth at all costs in the capital. Told in a magical realism style that recalls the brilliant Mozambican author Mia Couto, scenes of village and city life trace the country's political travails and changing culture.

Having enjoyed one book, I’ll usually seek out others by the same author. That makes a long list of titles to explore from Mda. I’ve just finished The Zulus of New York, his exploration of the 19th century fascination with Zulu warriors and culture of putting human beings on display as entertainment and wil look further into his rich catalogue.

---

3. Everything Lost is Found Again: Four Seasons in Lesotho - Will McGrath

I’d mentioned this collection of essays in my earlier post: Scenic Roots. Will McGrath and his wife, Canadian-born medical anthropologist Ellen Block, spent nearly two years in Mokhotlong, Lesotho. The stories in Everything Lost is Found Again range from hilarious to heartbreaking and display an infectious affection for the people and places of this unique mountain kingdom with all its flaws and joys. It’s become our family’s deep dive guide to the country, far better than any Lonely Planet. His second book, Farewell Transmissions turns that same sense of the humorous and profound on topics as diverse as homelessness, indie wrestling, diamond mining and Elvis impersonation.

---

4. Shadow of the Sun - Ryszard Kapusćiński

Kapusćiński was a Polish journalist who reported on world affairs in a novelistic style. Shadow of the Sun is a collection of stories from post-independence Africa, ranging from the early days of Kwame Nkumrah in Ghana to the genocide in Rwanda. Among his other books, the Soccer War brings tales from conflicts throughout the 20th century, including the one kicked off by a football match between El Salvador and Honduras, The Emperor traces the fall of Ethiopia’s Haile Selassie, Shah of Shahs the overthrow of the last Shah of Iran. While there have been controversies on the exact veracity of his accounts (some referring to it as magical journalism) and the language can be severely dated, his books are page-turners that tell the tale of an extraordinary century as seen by someone who lived an extraordinary life.

---

4. R.G. Ferguson, Crusader Against Tuberculosis - C. Stuart Houston

   

   The oldest book on the list, I dug this one up as my practice in tuberculosis piqued my curiosity about the history of the disease in Canada. C. Stuart Houston was a radiologist, award-winning ornithologist, and author of several books on the history of medicine and politics in Saskatchewan, as well as the province’s bird life. Tuberculosis, while persistent in Saskatchewan today, was a far greater problem in the time of Dr. R.G. Ferguson. Ferguson led the Tuberculosis Sanatorium at Fort Qu’Appelle along with some of the first screening drives with chest x-rays and vaccination with BCG. Crusader Against Tuberculosis gives us a glimpse into life from the pre-sanatorium era to the antibiotic era, with one constant: TB’s consistent preference for the lungs of those living in poverty.

   ---

   ---

   Books From the Healthy Future Launch Trail

   One of the things I enjoyed the most about touring A Healthy Future this fall was the chance to connect with folks I admire for discussions of the ideas in the book.

   You can see videos of my conversations with Yann Martel and Danielle Martin here, André Picard and Danyaal Raza here, and Jane Philpott here.

   ---

   5. The High Mountains of Portugal - Yann Martel

   

   Yann Martel hosted the launch in Saskatoon.

The High Mountains continues Martel’s fascination with the line between animal and human, telling three connected stories of voyages through Portugal in different eras. We follow a hapless early motorist, a Portuguese pathologist and a Canadian senator into the hills for mysterious and improbable discoveries. If you stopped at Life of Pi, Martel’s rich writing and imagination make this a worthwhile next read.

---

6. Better Now: Six Big Ideas to Improve Health Care for All Canadians - Danielle Martin

Danielle Martin hosted the Toronto launch.

The founder of Canadian Doctors for Medicare is perhaps the country’s most important voice for public health care. In Better Now, she uses patients stories to illustrate the best solutions for improving access to primary care and to medications and to decrease waste, improve outcomes and address the social determinants of health. It’s a cliché to talk of a prescription for change, but if governments took what this doctor ordered seriously, the lives and health of Canadians would improve dramatically.

---

7. Neglected No More - André Picard

André Picard hosted the Vancouver launch.

In Neglected No More, The Globe and Mail’s health columnist tackles the problems in senior’s care in Canada. Anyone who has loved ones in care or has worked in the system will recognize how badly we care for the elderly in Canada and relate to the frustration of study after study being ignored. This book was written mid-pandemic and raised hope that the crisis of COVID and its toll on seniors would finally prompt real change.

---

8. A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency - Seth Klein

Seth came out to the Vancouver launch and our conversation there revived my interest in his 2020 book, A Good War. The main premise is that we can draw lessons for how to respond to the climate emergency from the experience of World War II. One of the major notions is that people may be more motivated by a call to sacrifice in service of a collective challenge than by the promise of easy solutions. This conclusion is interesting when viewed in the context of our response to COVID. May people kept up necessary sacrifices for long periods. Others, including governments, gave up far too quickly. There is a conversation to be had between the ideas of A Good War and A healthy Future: what can we learn from crises, recent and historic, to prepare us to deal with what may be the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced?

---

---

9. The Librarianist – Patrick DeWitt

And finally, just for fun, a subdued novel about a quiet man and his entanglement in what turns out to be someone else’s true love. DeWitt, the author of Sisters Brothers and The French Exit, is a master at spinning worlds that suck you in until the last page. In The Librarianist, that last page features a groaner of a punchline that almost makes you question the whole thing. Almost.

---

Thanks for reading along with this year. Got topics you’d like to see covered in 2024? Leave a comment below, and please share this and other posts to keep the conversation growing to A Larger Scale.

---