A certain kind of Canadian novel has become so common it is now a cliché, and is made fun of and complained about by critics and novelists, even if still widely enjoyed by reading groups and prize-giving committees. It usually begins with a tragic or unexpected death, follows a trail of grief and redemptive healing, and constantly refers to the…
Michel Basilières
Michel Basilières is the author of Black Bird (Knopf Canada, 2003), which has garnered several honours and is available in four languages. He teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto and Humber College, while slowly carving out another novel.
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Michel Basilières
Few Canadian novels have generated such diverse initial reaction as Yann Martel’s third, Beatrice and Virgil. From Pasha Malla’s fawning review in The Globe and Mail (“as the Holocaust has forever recast our understanding of humanity and historiography, so might Beatrice & Virgil”) to the damning condemnation of Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times (“a botched and at times cringe-making fable,”…