Hello!

Robertson Davies is my all time favourite. I also really enjoy reading Jane Urquhart.

I also saw the movie and enjoyed it. Not as much as the book but that seem to be the way with books and movies.

Hi Shannon. I did read Rare Birds and I also enjoyed it. There is actually a movie which was very funny. William Hurt plays the lead.

Hi Jennifer,
I have never seen the movie version but would like to one day. You are the only person that I have heard who has actally seen the movie. Glad you enjoyed it. I'll have to see if I can get it one day.

L.M. Montgomery and Kenneth Oppel

Shannon wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Has anyone read Rare Birds by Edward Riche?"

Hi Shannon. I did read Rare Birds and I also enjoyed it. There is actually a movie which was very funny. William Hurt plays the lead.

Jennifer wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Moe,

Which Elizabeth Hay book did you like so much? I read Late Nights on Air and while I enjoyed it I found it to be a bit disappointing. i will have to look up some of your oth..."

Jennifer, I will likely try another Elizabeth Hay at some point and will keep in mind A Student of Weather.

Has anyone read Rare Birds by Edward Riche. Not a brilliant piece but I have to say that I did enjoy it. He also wrote the Nine Planets but I know nothing about it.

Hmmmmm,
Farley Mowat
Bill Richardson
Rohinton Mistry
Elizabeth Hay

Helene

Contemporary Canadian Authors I Currently Enjoy:

Miriam Toews
Monique Proulx
Lori Lansens
Joseph Boyden
Michael Redhill
Shani Mootoo
Elizabeth Hay

"All-Star" Canadian Authors:

Margaret Laurence
Alice Munro
Alistair MacLeod
Michael Ondaatje
Mordechai Richler
Carol Shields
Timothy Findley
Robertson Davies

Shannon wrote: "Moe,

Which Elizabeth Hay book did you like so much? I read Late Nights on Air and while I enjoyed it I found it to be a bit disappointing. i will have to look up some of your other authors (Ma..."

Hi Shannon.

I'm new to the group, so later in posting. Concerning Elizabeth Hay, A Student of Weather was very good as was Garbo Laughs. I have heard more positive feedback about A Student of Weather though. Maybe you'll give Hay another try? :)

Jennifer

I was right with you until you had to through Atwood in there

Mark Anthony Jarman -- at the sentence level, he is simply the best writer in Canada today.

Also Joseph Boyden, Lynn Coady, Bill Gaston, and Rawi Hage among newer or lesser-known writers. Alice Munro is top of mind among the stars, also Ondaatje and Margaret Atwood.

I was half way through Fall On Your Knees and forgot it on a plane and couldn't be bothered to buy it again, so I give her a 2 1/2 star same as Atwood.

Interesting that I was at a dinner party last week where I met 2 other people that were prepared to agree with me, I no longer stand alone :-)

No one has mentioned Ann-Marie MacDonald but I loved Fall On Your Knees and The Way the Crow Flies.

I know it’s pretty banal to say Margaret Atwood, but “surfacing” and “handmaid’s tale” are among my favourite novels of all time. Also "funny boy" by Shyam Selvadurai is a beautiful canadian novel.

I haven't read anything by Kenneth Oppel although he has always been on my wish list.

Some of my favourites are:
Margaret Laurence esp. The Diviners
Carol Shields
Alistair MacLeod's No Great Mischief is by far my favourite Canadian book
I enjoy the element of myth that Hiromi Goto brings to her work, esp. The Kappa Child

My book club is on a bit of a Canadian trend at the moment, we've read A Good House by Bonnie Burnard, Cambodia by Brian Fawcett, Kit's Law by Donna Morrissey, Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King and A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.

I love Canadian literature because of the many layers and its diversity.

I have the disadvantage of having limited experience with Canadian authors due to my young age and lack of exposure to the genre. However, one young author that I believe possesses tremendous potential for action and adventure novels is the illustrious Kenneth Oppel.

Mr. Kenneth Oppel is my selection for the greatest Canadian author.

Some of my favorites are:

Mary Lawson
Joy Fielding
Robert J Sawyer
Margaret Atwood

I have more but they aren't coming to me at the moment.

I love Elizabeth Harvor's story collections but really did not admire her novel (The Heart ...)
My very close girlfriend loved it, however. So, there's no accounting for taste, what moves us most doesn't always work for even those we love most, and vice-versa...

Shannon wrote: "Moe,

Which Elizabeth Hay book did you like so much? I read Late Nights on Air and while I enjoyed it I found it to be a bit disappointing. i will have to look up some of your other authors (Ma..."

Late Nights on Air was the one I loved. Some times I think you have to be in the right mood to enjoy a book. I love having an ecclectic collection of books so I will always have something that suits my mood. If I have just read a weighty book I will follow it up with a piece of fluff.

Moe,

Which Elizabeth Hay book did you like so much? I read Late Nights on Air and while I enjoyed it I found it to be a bit disappointing. i will have to look up some of your other authors (Maree's too).

There are so many great Canadian authors, I discover new ones every day,

Bill Gaston
David Bergen
Sheree Fitch
Nicola Dickner
Bill Gaston
Rawi Hage
Lisa Moore
Neil Bisoondath

My favorites would have to be:
Mary Lawson
Elizabeth Hay
Michael Crummy
Lawrence Hill
James Houston
Heather O'Neil
Joseph Boyden
Brad Smith

Most of those are for a favorite book rather than a body of work.

Favorites for me:

Alistair MacLeod (love him!)
Robyn Sarah
Elizabeth Harvor

of course I like Atwood and Munro, but those are all Amnerican know of Canadian authors..oh yes, and Ondaatje.
Shannon, I'm not familiar with the others you list.

I just taught a short play by Toronto playwright David Ives, he's very funny. My students loved it...

I will put my comment here. I often find that I will pick up a book to read and only at the end find out that it is a Canadian author. I think that is brilliant because it means that I am not having to search out Canadians to read.

Current favourite Canadian authors for me are:
Alistair MacLeod
Miriam Toews
Ami McKay, and
Mary Lawson

There are so many decent fiction writers available to choose from and my list changes year to year.

article in Salon.com:

http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=77...


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