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“A writer, in some ways, lives and dies with the characters”: An Interview with Madeleine Thien
Says Madeleine Thien, author of the award-winning novel, Do No Say We Have Nothing. I often judge a book by its cover. But when it came to Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Madeleine Thien’s Do Not Say We Have Nothing (the book also received the Governor General’s Literary Award and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize), history was not bound to repeat itself. I met Thien during a session organized by Pivot Reading Series late November. As I mustered up the courage to speak to the author, I was soon pleasantly surprised by her honesty and genuine interest. When asked how the people closest to her shaped her into the…
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Book Review: The Secret Daughter
A Novel by Shilpi Somaya Gowda By Kamaljit Chohan Filled with immersive storytelling that is descriptive and colourful, The Secret Daughter is an impressive debut novel by author Shilpi Somaya Gowda, born and raised in Toronto. A tale of compassion, loss and strength, Gowda explores the power of a mother’s love. The prose sparkles and assaults the senses with the intoxicating smells, sights, and sounds of the bustling and overcrowded streets of Mumbai, the home of Gowda’s parents before immigrating to Toronto. The contrast between impoverished slums and wealthy Bombay is painted effortlessly through Gowda’s mastery of narrative storytelling.
