D&M Fall 2024 Preview
From YA Indigenous horror to inspiring memoirs, not to mention a gorgeous illustrated book for all ages by beloved author Richard Wagamese, D&M has something for everyone this fall.
Bestselling Ojibway author, Richard Wagamese’s voice is unmistakable in The Animal People Choose a Leader, a children’s picture book illustrated by Bridget George. The story begins in a “Long Ago Time” when animals of all kinds shared a common language. They gather to decide which should be leader and after hearing boasts about the qualities of the candidates—Horse’s fleetness, Buffalo’s stamina, Cougar’s patience, Wolverine’s stealth—the conference decides to settle the matter with a race. However, another contestant joins in; a small, unassuming rabbit named Waabooz, who is considered by all to have slim chances. Through Waabooz’s story, Wagamese and George gracefully convey the limits of physical force and the powerful energies of humility, empathy and a loving attachment to the land.
FICTION
Set in the Northwest Territories, Beast by Richard Van Camp blends the supernatural with 1980s-era nostalgia to pit the powers of tradition against the pull of a vengeful past. The fictional town Fort Simmer exists in peace thanks to “the Treaty” made long ago between the Dogrib and Chipewyan peoples to prevent bloody warfare between them. Lawson, a Dogrib whose family are Yahbati—warriors responsible for protecting the treaty—has always lived life revolved around his duties. However, the Yahbati family next door are descendants of a revered Chipewyan war chief, and their son Silver isn’t looking to make it easy to keep their pact, placing himself in the service of a cruel spirit bent on destroying what peace they had made. Lawson’s journey is told through sharply observed realism and hair-raising horror in this gripping, spirited tale.
The Wedding by Gurjinder Basran explores the secrets, resentments and unspoken truths boiling beneath the surface of the joining of two Sikh families. Set in Surrey and Vancouver, Basran interweaves themes of identity, culture clashes and the immigrant experience with a sharp humour and intimate portrait of the Sikh community.
NON-FICTION
Shadows of Tyranny by Ken McGoogan is a deep dive into modern day dictatorships and potential democratic collapse in the US, and what implications that would have on Canada. Explore the ways in which history repeats itself in figures like Donald Trump, who replay many aspects of the authoritarianism that spread in the middle of the last century. McGoogan also calls on authors George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, H.G. Wells, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Jack London and Hannah Arendt as examples of the pattern of democracy falling to paranoia, polarization, scapegoating and demagoguery.
Climate change is one of the largest challenges society is facing today, but David Geselbracht, an environmental journalist and lawyer, is here to bring hope and agency to the crisis in Climate Hope—Stories of Action in an Age of Global Crisis. The book blends in-depth research, expert interviews and on-the-ground reporting across the globe to reveal the remarkable efforts being made to identify the causes and impacts of climate change and devise crucial ways of addressing them. From the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow to heating ducts below Copenhagen and wildfire-scorched landscapes in Western Canada, the scale of the challenge is clear, but in drawing these approaches together he shares stories of hope, awe and wonder that encourage us to confront this long-term, world-warping phenomenon with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility.
MEMOIR
in Just Say Yes, CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks host Bob McDonald shares his life's journey—from dropping out of university to becoming Canada’s foremost explainer of all things scientific. The memoir looks inwards on McDonald’s life as he shares insights on overcoming fear of failure and tackling life-transforming challenges. From his experience as a kid struggling in school, to being hired to do demonstrations at the Ontario Science Centre and then self-produced TV spots, McDonald examines his experiences for a witty and engaging memoir that’s sure to inspire and delight old and new fans alike.
From Anh Duong comes Dear Da-Lê, a revealing memoir written for his Canadian daughter, Ashley Duong, in which he finally opens up about the traumas of his childhood in war-torn Vietnam, and his years as a refugee in revolutionary Iran. The memoir collects letters over a decade old between Anh and Ashley after her participation in student protests against tuition spikes calls back his experience of earnest activism descending into violence. It’s a story that weaves coming-of-age with the costs of war and exile, and includes revelations that will resonate with refugees of the Vietnam war as well as those who seek to understand the hidden torments of violent conflict and what healing we can do from the act of voicing a story.
Many Canadians love a warm, gooey, salty and fried poutine—but the story behind the dish is much richer and complex than one might expect. Justin Giovannetti Lamothe dives into the history of the closest thing Canada has to a national dish. From road-side chip wagons in rural Quebec to its popularity across the country and beyond, the journey of poutine is a perfect mirror for the growth of modern Canada and the shifting cultural gap between Quebec and its English-speaking neighbours. As the son of an anglophone mother and francophone father, Giovannetti Lamothe also explores his own evolving relationship to his father and the Quebecois heritage he drifted from. Poutine: A Deep-Fried Road Trip of Discovery will have readers exploring a whole new perspective on the simple dish, and possibly change their view on it forever.