Newfoundlanders in WWII, a Cli-fi suspense story, the history of Veterinary services, & More: July 21, 2025
Volume 2, Issue 27 of The Seaboard Review of Books
In this issue:
The Saltbox Olive by Angela Antle
The Midnight Project by Christy Climenhage
The Dialogues: The Song of Francis Pegahmagabow written by Armand Garnet Ruffo
Heal the Beasts by Philipp Schott, DVM
The Blind Viper by J.A. Wainwright
The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief
The Anne Emery Interview
Review of the Week
The Saltbox Olive by Angela Antle
When most readers think about Newfoundland at war, Beaumont Hamel and Gallipoli come to mind, but the famous 166th Newfoundland Regiment spent a considerable time in Italy, positioned between Florence and Bologna during the Second World War. Angela Antle's remarkable novel,
Fiction
The Midnight Project by Christy Climenhage
I was eager to read this book and when I received my review copy, I read Julie E. Czerneda’s blurb:
The Blind Viper by J.A. Wainwright
In The Blind Viper, his 8th novel, JA Wainwright (also the author of numerous volumes of poetry and non-fiction) has written a gripping account centred around ways of seeing, the creative impulse and the power of the mind to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Non-Fiction
Heal the Beasts by Philipp Schott, DVM
In Heal the Beasts: A Jaunt Through the Curious History of the Veterinary Arts, Philipp Schott, DVM, offers a high-level history of the evolution of the veterinary profession. Schott profiles 22 people who have been involved in health management for animals over the centuries. He also explores how our attitudes toward animals have changed over time.
Poetry
The Dialogues: The Song of Francis Pegahmagabow by Armand Garnet Ruffo
Home is a place that is deeply embedded into the very fabric of your being, somewhere that has a hold on you, where rocks and trees and waterways take root in your spirit and echo through your veins. You can leave your home, for a while, but when you’ve been gone too long, Home beckons to you, whispers to you, caresses you as it sends out its tendrils o…
Interview
The Anne Emery Interview
(Editor’s note: this interview originally appeared at “Nova Sociable” and is reproduced here with the kind permission of Ronan O’Driscoll)
Michael Greenstein Reviews:
The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief by Steven Mayoff
Patiently waiting for Godot and Kafka on Prince Edward Island, J.J. Steinfeld may now welcome Steven Mayoff to his heroic Cradle of Confederation. Yet Mayoff’s exuberant novel, The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief, resembles more closely the peripatetic fiction of Gary Barwin. Where Barwin gallops at a zany pace, Mayoff canters smoothly in his pi…
Hot Takes: Brief Notes on Books Present & Past
(Note: clicking on the underlined link takes you to the book’s publisher page or Amazon.ca for more information or for purchasing purposes)
With lush prose, Sydney Hegele invents a magical, yet dark story set in a small town on the shores of Lake Liguria. Callow tourists feed upon the tender peaches of this town, where mysterious sirens roam the cliffs and spend days in a meadow beneath the waves. Beneath the lyricism lurks darkness. Broken characters take out their hurts on one another, living their lives the only way they know how.
A fascinating blend of heightened reality, fairy tale or even mythic arcs, literary horror, realities of small-town life and the searing legacy of abuse, Hegele’s characters fumble with the tools they have towards love, despite their pain. In true fairy tale fashion, Bird Suit addresses darkness in the heart of men. Let the sirens of Lake Liguria do their work on your psyche. (Contributed by Emily Weedon)
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
A tale of subterfuge and intrigue set in the hills and farmland inspired by the Vézère valley in France. Kushner lampoons all classes, all creeds with her apolitical, and possibly amoral main character. A true cipher, Sadie Smith is a spy for our time, a realpolitic speck of force moving between the wheels of agricultural corporations, the government, small farmers, ecoactivists, and revolutionaries. Kushner absolutely nails the idealism and ineffectiveness of movements like the hippies, showing how excellent intentions almost inevitably run off course due to power struggles and inertia. In other words, human nature.
This is a story that reads as easily as pulp fiction, but that carries the heft of big ideas and has a sweep of time. Kushner maps human activity against a much bigger span than the now we live in, contrasting humans with the vanished Neanderthals. The politics of those Sadie hunts seem farcical, especially when contrasted with the lyrical thoughts of the mysterious Bruno, who inspired radicals and then shambled off to live alone with stars and voices and thoughts. Kushner’s work is fast, rife with hilarious apt observations and devastatingly satirical. Notable for an especially fierce takedown of French author Michel Houellebecq. Food for the brain and the soul, not to be missed. (Contributed by Emily Weedon)
Book News
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Emily Weedon’s Drunk Fiction
Yes, The Seaboard Review of Books is sponsoring “Drunk Fiction”! One of the books for sale at the event will be free for a lucky attendee. Mark your calendars for July 22nd! The Caledonian is at 856 College Street in Toronto. Drink responsibly, read voraciously!
Selena Mercuri
Co-admin and contributor Selena Mercuri has started up a new Substack site that promises to be a CanLit hit: Coffee Dates with Authors. Click the link below to find out more and subscribe.
Lisa Timpf
Lisa had four poems included in Peterborough, Ontario's Paddler Press Vol. 14: Canada, including one titled “This One's for Sandra,” a tribute to Canadian curling great Sandra Schmirler. Canada and other volumes are available at https://paddlerpress.ca/issues-trip-log/.
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Thanks for reading this issue of The Seaboard Review of Books!
James M. Fisher, editor-in-chief
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