SaskBooks Reviews

Pewter Angels by Henry Ripplinger Published by Pio-Seelos Books Review by Gail Jansen $21.95 CDN 9 780986 542411 The first in Ripllinger’s five-part Angelic Letters Series, Pewter Angels sets the stage for the tragic but uplifting love story of Henry and Jenny, two young lovers who in an almost modern day Romeo and Juliet are separated by those who think they know best. This novel is set in a simpler time and place: it was a time before cell phones, email or Facebook, when our reliance on simpler methods of communication was both a blessing and a curse. When someone on the other side of the world can be both seen and heard in an instant, it’s hard for us to fathom a world without communication. However, when circumstances dictate that Henry and Jenny be separated, with many unanswered letters between them, they’re forced to rely only on their faith, both in God and in one another, to see them through. As Ripplinger’s first novel, Pewter Angels has an unhurried pacing not typical of inexperienced writers. This pacing helps slow the reader down and give them a lesson in patience, just as Henry’s own mentor, Mr. Engelmann, repeatedly tries to…

A Woman Clothed in Words by Anne Szumigalski Published by Coteau Books Review by Kris Brandhagen $16.95 CAD 978155050478 The name Anne Szumigalski has long been ubiquitous in Saskatchewan’s writing community. According to A Woman Clothed in Words editor Mark Abley, “[t]he depth and breadth of her involvement in the Saskatchewan literary community are hard to overestimate. Anne was a founding member of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild, a founding editor of Grain, and the first writer-in-residence at the Saskatoon Public Library”. She was a complex writer, who refused to be nailed down to a specific poetics, by herself, by anyone else, or even by her poems, preferring to always push boundaries, in terms of writing in all genres, and writing in-between genres, as well as collaborating with all sorts of other arts media and professionals. It is noted by Abley that, “the interplay between language and the female body shapes much of her work.” We find out where the title of this book comes from in an excerpt from the “Thin Pale Man”: …here’s the river again and the ice and Anna giving herself to love all garments fall from her but the garment of words and what could be…

First in Canada: An Aboriginal Book of Days by Jonathan Anuik Published by Canadian Plains Research Center Press Review by Chris Ewing-Weisz $24.95 978-088977-240-3 Every schoolchild has heard of La Vérendrye, but how many know the name of the Cree guide who made the canoe route map he relied on? We all know about the Plains of Abraham and Sir John A. Macdonald, but how many of us know about the numbered treaties, or when Native Canadians got the vote? Jonathan Anuik’s sumptuously illustrated, made-for-browsing book brings a hidden history to light. Hundreds of intriguing facts, arranged by date, alternate with photographs and short writeups about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people across Canada, from earliest prehistory to the present. First in Canada celebrates Native achievements in every field: art, literature, music, architecture, politics, medicine, sports, religion, theatre, education, and more. Also noted are the darker elements of our shared history: conflicts from the North West Rebellion to Oka; Richard Cardinal’s suicide and David Marshall’s wrongful imprisonment; the long and tangled history of legislation and activism attempting to sort out the relationship between Native and more recently arrived Canadians. Many items are only briefly noted; readers will want to turn…

Lilies, Irises, & Orchids of Saskatchewan by Vernon L. Harms and Anna L. Leighton Published by Nature Saskatchewan Review by Sandy Bonny $ 19.95 ISBN-13 987-0-921104-28-5 There is something about flowers—from Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” to Spike Jonze’s film “Adaptation,” our culture celebrates their transient beauty above the reproductive bodies of other flora. Intriguing though mushrooms and pinecones may be, they just don’t have the aura of mystique that draws floraphiles to the many-coloured monocots. In this keyed field guide from Nature Saskatchewan, professional and amateur botanists are introduced to Saskatchewan’s fifty-one species of lilies, irises and orchids, twenty-one of which are considered rare or endangered. The guide’s authors, Anna Leighton and Vernon L. Harms, are key players in the Flora of Saskatchewan Association’s volunteer-driven initiative to document the province’s flora, and in this offering they supplement detailed line drawings, colour photographs, and identification keys with interesting notes and commentary regarding the distribution and seasonal appearances of each flowering species. True to the diversity of species at large, the guide includes both native species and ‘garden-escapes.’ Thus, we see cultivated chives beside Red ‘Tiger’ Lilies in the Lily Family, and introduced German Irises alongside native Blue Flag in the…

Bee Yourself by Kerry Sather and illustrated by David Mark Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Gail Jansen $19.95 978-1-894431-66-8 At one time or another, most of us will have looked in the mirror and wished we were “someone new,” especially as children, where one look around the schoolyard could often have us seeing others who seemed to be more talented, more attractive, and smarter than we could ever hope to be. That’s why first time children’s author Kerry Sather’s book Bee Yourself offers both parents and children alike a wonderful opportunity to see for themselves that sometimes just “beeing” yourself is the best thing around. Taking you on a fun whimsical flight around the countryside, Bee Yourself shows you, through the eyes of a quirky little bee, that every creature has an upside and a downside to its existence and that truly, no one is perfect. Complemented by David Mark’s wonderful illustrations that showcase the imagination of a little bee as it tries on different personalities and personae, you’ll laugh out loud when you see what a bee would look like dressed up as a butterfly,a frog, a bird, a bunny, and more. The hilarity includes an…

Barnabas Bigfoot: A Close Shave By Marty Chan Published by Thistledown Press Review by Colette Wheler $10.95 ISBN 978-1-897235-92-8 Young Barnabas Bigfoot is a big hairy deal.  His hands are the size of beaver tails and his seven-foot-tall body is covered with long, brown hair.  But Barnabas has an embarrassing “little” problem: in a world that believes in the power of the foot (the bigger the better!) those oh-so-important structures at the ends of his legs are unusually tiny. This fantastical first book in the new sasquatch series by award-winning author Marty Chan introduces the young reader to Barnabas Bigfoot and the rest of his colourful sasquatch family, who live in peaceful seclusion in the forested mountains of BC, and who choose their leaders by the size of their feet.  The family’s hope that Barnabas will become the next tribe leader turns to disappointment when his feet fail to “blossom” along with the rest of his body.  Young, small-footed Barnabas just wants to fit in, so his sympathetic father makes him some fake furry feet to cover up his “special condition.” One day, Barnabas is sent by his match-making mother to forage for leaves with the horrible, but big-footed, Hairyson…

The Maladjusted by Derek Hayes Published by Thistledown Press Review by Gail Jansen $18.95 ISBN: 978-1-897235-90-4 For those that tend to a more sunny disposition, The Maladjusted by Derek Hayes might be a journey on a road seldom trod, but it’s a road well worth travelling. Hayes has written a collection of short stories that lets you look at life from a new perspective, and allows you to identify with characters that often live on the fringe of what we would consider a “normal” existence. Hayes puts us in touch with that voice inside that speaks incessantly as we go about our daily lives by introducing us to characters who, as much as they differ from us on the outside, echo many of our own thoughts and beliefs on the inside. This creates a connection that allows us to view those “maladjusted” members of our society in a whole new light. From the grimy back alleys behind the apartment of the “mentally ill” Mike, who finds solace and perhaps a life in the game of Chess, to the dignity we can so plainly see in Melanie as she struggles to find her own level of normal, Hayes characters are people…

Storm of the Century: The Regina Tornado of 1912 by Sandra Bingaman Published by Canadian Plains Research Center Review by Keith Foster $29.95 ISBN 978-0-88977-248-9 If there was any doubt about the importance of newspapers to historical research, it is surely dispelled by Sandra Bingaman’s latest book, Storm of the Century. In describing the impact of the massive tornado that struck Regina on June 30, 1912, the author draws heavily on Regina’s three daily newspapers of the time – the Leader, the Province, and the Standard. By using selected quotes from these papers, she gives the reader a feeling of almost being there. When she quotes from survivors, it’s as if one is hearing their stories directly from them. For example, travelling salesman W.S. Ingram, who was in an office with Joseph Bryan when the storm struck, related his experience to a Standard reporter: “Strange to say, I felt no injury, other than a somewhat dazed condition. I could feel that Mr. Bryan must be on me, and reaching up my hand could feel his body. I called to him, but received no reply, and reached up again to feel his arm. The body became limp, and I was quite…