Canada Reads 2015: Breaking Down Barriers
Canada Reads, the annual battle of the books, is challenging stereotypes, introducing new perspectives and breaking barriers with its 2015 competition. This year the contest will consider books about teenage sexuality, immigration and Aboriginal treatment.
The debates, broadcast on CBC radio, take place March 16-19 and will be hosted by Wab Kinew.
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And the Birds Rained Down by Jocelyne Saucier, translated by Rhonda Mullins
• eBook
A pair of octogenarians who have cut ties with civilization to live in Northern Ontario have their solitude interrupted by a photographer who is searching for survivors of a horrific fire many years earlier and an elderly escapee from a mental institution. The winner of numerous awards, it will be championed by Martha Wainwright.
The Inconvenient Indian: a Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King
• eBook
• Talking Book: DAISY Format (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
King explores the history of European settlement in North America from the earliest contact to the present, concentrating on the treatment of First Nations peoples. This witty, thought-provoking book was the winner of the RBC Taylor Prize in 2014. Craig Kielburger is its defender.
Intolerable: a Memoir of Extremes by Kamal Al-Solaylee
• eBook
• Talking Book: DAISY Format (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
Born in Yemen, Al-Solaylee and his family went into exile in Cairo and Beirut before returning to their homeland. As the Middle East became more restrictive, Al-Solaylee, a gay man, realized that there was no place for him there. He received a scholarship to study in the UK and later emigrated to Canada. The memoir won'the 2013 Toronto Book Award. Kristin Kreuk will champion the book for Canada Reads.
Ru by Kim Thúy, translated by Sheila Fischman
• eBook
• Large Print
• Talking Book: DAISY format (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
Nguyen An Tinh enjoys a privileged childhood in Saigon but when she is 10 years old, her family flees Viet Nam and the war, landing first in a Malaysian refugee camp and then Canada. Based upon the author's own experiences, the novel won'the 2010 Governor General's Award for French Language Fiction; the English translation was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2012. It will be defended by Cameron Bailey.
When Everything Feels Like the Movies by Raziel Reid
• eBook
The novel, which won'the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Literature in 2014, was inspired by the true story of Lawrence Fobes King, an openly gay teen who was shot and killed by a classmate inside an Oxnard California high school. The book will be defended by Elaine Lui.
Join broadcaster Mary Ito at Toronto Reference Library for the launch of Canada Reads on March 4, 2015, 7-8 PM.
One thought on “Canada Reads 2015: Breaking Down Barriers”
I would vote for Rue as,where I live, my impression of Vietnames people was of gang members and beautiful restaurant servers who would go home to them after work.Vietnamese gangs are often in the news here but of course would represent a small proportion of their people. Everything Movies etc.will win because no one on the politically correct panel would dare vote against it.It is a harrowing story but not unusual in the wider context of the hundreds of murders that happen every day in North America and the thousands world wide.The battle for homosexual acceptance has been won The proponent of this book is pounding up the back stretch when the winners have crossed the finish line.” Her”book would be remarkable if it heralded a new master of English prose but,regretably,lt does not