Jack Kirchhoff

Patrick deWitt’s third novel, the ­delightfully titled Undermajordomo Minor, is a picaresque tale that calls to mind such exuberant works as the novels The Princess Bride, Candide, The Giant, O’Brien and Philip Pullman’s version of Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm. Things that Undermajordomo Minor (possibly a nod to Catch-22’s Major Major Major Major) does not resemble much: deWitt’s first…

The first thing to note about Marina Endicott’s Close to Hugh is the book’s voice, which is alive with impish humour, a deep reservoir of humanity and a gift for quirky, evocative phrasing. These have always been strengths of this Edmonton-based writer’s work, even in her first novel, the straightforward first-person Open Arms…

If your experience of Emma Donoghue’s fiction is limited to her bestselling 2010 novel, Room, arguably her breakthrough work, then her latest, Frog Music, will not be what you expect. Room is a tightly focused, self-contained psychological thriller, told from the point of view of five-year-old Jack, born and raised in a small room where his ma has been imprisoned for seven…

You have to hand it to Wayne Grady. When he steps outside his comfort zone, he makes it a giant step. In the midst of a distinguished career as a non-fiction writer and translator—14 books, 15 translations from the French (including works by Antonine Maillet, Yves Beauchemin and Daniel Poliquin), three Governor General’s Award nominations and one win (for Maillet’s On the Eighth Day)—he has produced his first…