The Seaboard Review of Books, December 10, 2025
Volume 2, Issue 55 of The Seaboard Review of Books, December 10, 2025
In this issue:
Choose Life: A Review of Child of War (Poetry)
What Matters: Seeing Things by George Amabile (Poetry)
At Home in the Cold: Domestic Culture in Arctic Exploration, 1890-1940, by Katherine Crooks (Non-Fiction)
The Black Wolf by Louise Penny (Fiction)
River Becomes Shadow (Taggak Journey Book 2) by Anne M Smith-Nochasak (Fiction)
Thanks for reading this issue of The Seaboard Review of Books!
James M. Fisher, editor-in-chief
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Poetry
Michael Greenstein Reviews
New, Old & Notable is a recurring column by Gordon Phinn in which he concisely reviews several books from the past and present.
Contents of Issue #3:
The Death Of Tony: On Belonging In Two Worlds by Antanas Sileika (Stonehewer Books 2024)
Three Way Renegade: Samuel Steward Without Apology by Keith Garebian (Frontenac House 2023)
Best Canadian Essays 2026, ed. Brian Bethune (Biblioasis 2025)
A World of My Own: A Dream Diary by Graham Greene (Viking 1994)
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Asking for a Friend by Kerry Clare
This 2023 novel explores the enduring bond of women’s friendships, which are tested over time and distance. Clara and Jess met in 1989 at university, and their lives became stitched together by this circumstance. When their friendship begins, Jess is unexpectedly pregnant and has an appointment for an abortion, which Clara supports her through.
The bond is such that they become unofficial roommates in Clara’s dorm room. Jess’s abandoned roommate, Muffy, is suspicious of the situation. Themes explored in the book include difficult decisions, coming of age, feminism, and what it means to be a feminist, as well as the desire to be a mother. The novel follows the two characters through long periods, through separations, and a brief love triangle. This is a lovely novel and a great read. The characters and their struggles felt real, and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them. (Contributed by Pamela Sinclair)
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