Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Coming of Age in 1960’s/70’s Quebec

In this first volume we follow Charles from birth in 1966 through elementary school. His mother dies when is very young and his father is an alcoholic who doesn’t care for his son. He’s both neglectful and abusive. We follow Charles through good times and bad. We also get a glimpse into the place and politics of Montreal at the time.

I realized soon after I started this book, why it was labeled ‘The Dog Years. Dogs from all over the neighborhood follow Charles everywhere he goes. It really rang true for me, because I also had a dog following when I was growing up. My mom dislikes animals so I was not allowed to have pets of my own, but in a way I did because there were always dogs nearby when I was outside. I was happy that Charle finally got a dog of his own, unlike I who had to wait until adulthood.

Though this book is depressing at times, Charles has an endurable spirit that is contagious. He is a delightful boy that captured my heart. Though I found the first couple chapters a bit slow and tedious, Beauchemin really weaves a wonderful story with rich scenery and characters.

I look forward to reading the other three volumes of Charles the Bold and highly recommend this book. I predict that it will become a Canadian Classic, it certainly should.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

An Hour With Miriam Toews

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on March 31, 2008
Posted in FictionMiriam Toews  | 6 Comments


Friday night I had the pleasure of seeing Miriam Toews live. She did a reading of ‘A Complicated Kindness’ and of her new book that is coming out in October. Then she did a question and answer with the audience.

I loved her book ‘A Complicated Kindness’! It’s a coming of age story about a teenage girl in a Mennonite society. Unfortunately, I read it long before I started writing book reviews, so you will just have to trust me on this one.

Miriam made a comment at the beginning of her reading, that in the past, people have complained that she reads too fast. She did read fast, especially when the lead character was speaking. However, she paced it exactly how I imagined the character to talk. She nailed it, and other audience members agreed!

I really enjoyed her reading and especially the question and answer. I highly recommend you read ‘A Complicated Kindness’ and see Miriam Toews in person, if you get the chance. She is delightful. I look forward to reading more books by Miriam Toews!

A complicated Kindness was also reviewed at:
book-a-rama

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.
Anne over at Reading Writing and Ranting is hosting this challenge.

This is what Anne Said about the challenge:

“There is only one rule:1) You must commit to reading 6 historical novels over 6 months.

As this is a challenge, not a competition, satisfaction and a bigger brain will be your greatest reward! This is to encourage us all to have fun learning about history. I expect that if you’ve read a great author, you’ll be inspired to hit Wikipedia up and learn a little more too. I don’t mind if you end up reading a series about mostly fictional characters either. You won’t find any literary snobs here.”

The first novel I intend to read for this challenge is:

April 18, 2008 My review is now posted, please see it here

The second novel I intend to read for this challenge is:

April 18, 2008 My review is now posted, please see it here




The third book I intend to read for this challenge is:

April 29, 2008 My review is now posted, please see it here



The fourth book I intend to read for this challenge is:




May 9, 2008 My review is now posted, please see it here

The fifth book I intend to read for the challenge is:

May 31, 2008 My review is now posted, please see it here

The sixth book I intend to read for the challenge is:

July 7, 2008 My review is now posted, please see it here

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.