Pearl Luke's Blog: Pearl Luke's Book and Writing Blog, page 30

Mar 4, Repast by Peter Levitt

Repast, a short story by Peter Levitt. All through the evening meal the couple argued. He was right, then she was right, then he insisted and she insisted.

Mar 3, March 1 Book Giveaway: Ru by Kim Thuy

A runaway bestseller in Quebec, with foreign rights sold to 15 countries around the world, Kim Thúy's Governor General's Literary Award-winning Ru is a lullaby for Vietnam and a love letter to a new homeland.

Ru. In Vietnamese it means lullaby; in French it is a small stream, but also signifies a flow - of tears, blood, money. Kim Thúy's Ru is literature at its most crystalline: the flow of a life on the tides of unrest and on to more peaceful waters. In vignettes of exquisite clarity, sharp observation and sly wit, we are carried along on an unforgettable journey from a palatial residence in Saigon to a crowded and muddy Malaysian refugee camp, and onward to a new life in Quebec. There, the young girl feels the embrace of a new community, and revels in the chance to be part of the American Dream. As an adult, the waters become rough again: now a mother of two sons, she must learn to shape her love around the younger boy's autism. Moving seamlessly from past to present, from history to memory and back again, Ru is a book that celebrates life in all its wonder: its moments of beauty and sensuality, brutality and sorrow, comfort and comedy.

"This is an exemplary autobiographical novel. Never is there the slightest hint of narcissism or self-pity. The major events in the fall of Vietnam are painted in delicate strokes, through the daily existence of a woman who has to reinvent herself elsewhere. A tragic journey described in a keen, sensitive and perfectly understated voice."
—Governor General's Literary Award jury citation

"Gloriously, passionately, delicately unique…. A remarkable book; one that has well-earned every note of praise it has received."
—The Chronicle Journal

"Powerful and engaging.... In short entries that read lyrically and poetically—but also powerfully, pungently, and yet gently, dispassionately—Ru blends politics and history, celebration and violence within a young girl's imaginative experience…. [I]ts hybrid and enchanted voice conjur[es] a love song out of chaos and pain, singing and rilling its simplicities."
—Winnipeg Free Press

"In a series of vignettes which extend from wartime Vietnam to the hospitable precincts of Quebec, Kim Thúy writes with equal delicacy and candor about a childhood marked by horrifying brutality, and the pleasures of ordinary peace. A brave and moving book, bringing lucid insight both to the costs of violence, and elusive processes of psychic survival."
—Eva Hoffman, author of Lost in Translation

(© 2012 Random House of Canada Limited)

To enter to your name in the draw for Kim Thúy's novel, please follow the instructions at the bottom of the the REVIEW of Ru at BookClubBuddy.com

Mar 3, Repast

Repast, a short story by Peter Levitt. All through the evening meal the couple argued. He was right, then she was right, then he insisted and she insisted.

Mar 3, For Safekeeping by Robert Hilles

For Safekeeping is a new short story by Governor General's Award winning author Robert Hilles. Hilles is the author of more than twenty books of poetry, non-fiction, and fiction. For Safekeeping is a story of one woman's longing for motherhood.

Feb 29, Creative Writing Contests and Competitions

Creative writing contests and competitions with big cash prizes like the ones below can provide a real step up for writers. Writing competitions can jumpstart a career.

Feb 29, $3000 PaperCOAL Fiction Contest DEADLINE MAY 1, 2012

PaperCOAL is publishing its first print magazine September, 2012. It will encompass art, literature, music, and film. We are hosting a writing competition in honor of this launch.

First place will win:

-$3,000 cash prize

-Optional six-month paid submission contract

-Complimentary first issue, with winning story published

-Publication on the papercoal.com website

We're currently looking for artists who can paint pictures using the written word. Stories that are absurd, oddly beautiful and strange are encouraged to apply.

Maximum length of manuscript: 2,000 words. Manuscripts over the word count are automatically disqualified. No refunds issued.

Entry fee is $15 per manuscript. You may enter as many manuscripts as you wish, but they must be in standard manuscript format. No fancy colors, fonts, or spacing.

All entries must be written in English, original and unpublished.

Entries must be submitted online by May 1, 2012 (11:59 EST). PaperCOAL reserves the right to extend the contest.

Winners will be notified by July 1st, 2012. If you have not been contacted, you may assume that you are not a finalist and you are welcome to market your work elsewhere.

Don't get bogged down with perfection artists! Create. Write. Submit. Win.

Feb 27, Ru by Kim Thuy Reviewed by Brenda Brooks

Sometimes you really can tell a book by its cover. Ru, by Kim Thúy evokes a handmade delicacy, from the texture and color of its flyleaf, to the embossed symbols on the front and back cover and pressed deeply into the body of the boards themselves. The front symbol is an asian dragon motif; the back, a snowflake. Between these two symbols, one ancient, and the other denoting "the new," Thuy has enclosed the fictional memoir of an exile's flight from upheaval and loss, into the arms of a new homeland.

The story, told from a perspective thirty years hence, begins in Saigon during the Tet Offensive of 1968. Our fictional diarist is born into both the celebratory fireworks of the lunar New Year, and the rockets, missiles and machine gun fire of soldiers deployed during the invasion. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, and the Communist take-over, her family is shorn of its home and possessions. Rather than live under the the Communist regime, they become part of the mass immigration of "boat people," fleeing their home shores on dangerous, over-crowded vessels. Although a great many exiles died during these crossings, our diarist and her family manage to reach a Malaysian refugee camp sheltering two thousand souls, though built with a capcacity for only two hundred.

Read the Full Review

Feb 26, Book Review Websites: How to Review a Book

BookClubBuddy.com is always eager to hear from new book reviewers interested in writing a book review for us.

If you are a passionate, analytical reader, or an author eager to spread the word about your own website or book page, please contact us. We always have a number of interesting books ready for review, and we can arrange to have a review copy mailed directly to you. In exchange we provide a byline and a link to your website, blog, publisher, or sales page.

Review Guidelines

Long ago, when I was reviewing books for the Calgary Herald, I needed to know how to review a book. I came across these three requirements for book reviewing.

Read more at: Book Review Websites

Feb 26, Creative Writing Resources

Creative writing resources for hours of inspiration, tips, activities, help, and entertainment for creative writers.

Feb 23, February 23rd Book Giveaway: Drawing Back to Take a Running Jump

Author Lorne Daniel answers two questions for BookClubBuddy.com

What is your creative process?

Lorne Daniel: I try to write regularly, weekday mornings, but I'm not always successful at that. The stuff of life too often gets in the way, or distracts me. I have been most effective when I can get away to a retreat where my sole focus is writing. If I can write for a week, two weeks, or more without interruption, working at whatever hours I have energy, I feel I build up some writing momentum and it starts to flow. I find it a challenge to keep my writing scenarios (whether in poetry or non-fiction) in my mind unless I am working on them continuously.

I do a lot of drafting and note making by hand, throwing sheets of notes into folders, then transcribe it into electronic form when I want it to begin taking shape. For creative writing, I find the pen and paper still facilitate thoughts and emotions better than the blank screen.

I most enjoy the sense of something new, something deeper, revealing itself through the process of writing. I think readers often don't realize that writers set out with vague images and concepts in mind but through their work with words form something different.

If you could do anything for anyone, what would you do?

Lorne Daniel: Love and happiness for all. A small wish. One of my favourite songs is Mark Knopfler's "Love and Happiness," with the lines, "Here's a penny for / any thought it is / that makes you smile." Perhaps it's a sappy sentiment but I think each of us takes a great deal of pleasure from seeing others experience those small moments of happiness. Big social movements can be tremendously important but at the same time a small kindness can make one life brighter, right now.

To learn how you can win a copy of Lorne Daniel's collection of poetry, Drawing Back to Take a Running Jump, please visit Getting 2 Know Lorne Daniel at BookClubBuddy.com