Literary Review of Canada | A Journal of Ideas

December 2025 cover spread by Dave Murray.

This week with bookworm

Alexander Sallas on The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald by John U. Bacon. Nirris Nagendrarajah on Three Parties by Ziyad Saadi. Poetry by Owen Torrey.

Touched Us All

A baseball season to remember

Kyle Wyatt

How Vain an Attempt

When the Americans came marching in

Tim Cook

Binding Ambitions

Scott McIntyre’s life in books

Joyce Wayne

Illustration by Natàlia Pàmies Lluís for Charlotte Gray’s December 2025 review of “In This Faulty Machine” by Kathy Page.

The Body Intervenes

Kathy Page recalibrates her future

Charlotte Gray

Illustration by Matthew Daley for John Baglow’s December 2025 review of “In Crisis, on Crisis” by James Cairns and “Invested in Crisis” by Tom Fraser.

Dire Straits

Two authors read the warning signs

John Baglow

Illustration by Tessa Presta for Brad Dunne’s December 2025 review of “The Lobster Trap” by Greg Mercer.

Claws and Effect

Consider the state of the lobster fishery

Brad Dunne

Illustration by Pierre-Paul Pariseau for Noah Ciubotaru’s December 2025 review of “Montreal After Dark” by Matthieu Caron.

The Sounds and the Fury

A city of silenced saints

Noah Ciubotaru

Photograph by Bryan Dickie for Noel Ransome’s December 2025 review of "Defund” by Sandy Hudson.

Good Cop, No Cop?

Sandy Hudson calls for change

Noel Ransome

Building Blocks

Won’t you be my neighbour?

Frances Bula

Illustration by Karsten Petrat for Ira Basen’s December 2025 essay on news avoidance.

Stop the Presses!

When no news is good news

Ira Basen

Photograph for David Venn’s December 2025 review of “Worlds on Paper,” edited by Emily Laurent Henderson.

Workshopped

Strange Arctic creatures and where to find them

David Venn

Stem Education

Toward harmonious arrangements

Jason Wang

Illustration by Nick Lowndes for John Lorinc’s December 2025 essay on culture and crisis.

Inflection Points

What we make in the moments that make us

John Lorinc

Illustration by Blair Kelly for Allan Hepburn’s December 2025 review of “The Weather & the Words,” edited by J. A. Weingarten.

Dark and Stormy

John Newlove didn’t forget to write

Allan Hepburn

llustration by Sarah Farquhar for Russell Smith’s December 2025 review of “You’ve Changed” by Ian Williams.

Triangle of Sadness

Ian Williams returns to the novel

Russell Smith

Illustration by Paige Stampatori for Amanda Perry’s December 2025 review of “Souches” by Myriam Ouellette.

I, Chimera

Myriam Ouellette descends into the world of the sick

Amanda Perry

Pulpit Fiction

Linda McQuaig starts making things up

David Marks Shribman

Illustration by Sandi Falconer for Rod Moody-Corbett’s December 2025 review of “Days of Feasting and Rejoicing” by David Bergen.

The Imposter

David Bergen goes in for the kill

Rod Moody-Corbett

Illustration by Neil Webb for André Forget’s December 2025 review of “The Sapling” by Marc Bendavid.

Lessons

A haunting debut by Marc Bendavid

André Forget

Unwrapped

It’s beginning to look a lot like Dickens

Alexander Sallas

Survival Mode

A Strange Road to Hell

Service Records