The Seaboard Review of Books August 11, 2025
Volume 2, Issue 30 of The Seaboard Review of Books, August 11, 2025
In this issue:
Interview with Lynda Williams by Danila Botha
Here: Stories by Heidi Wicks, reviewed by Shannon MacLeod
Anne Smith-Nochasek reviews When I Became Never by Nathalie Guilbeault
Melanie Jackson reviews two books: A Season in the Okanagan and The Antifa Comic Book
Excerpts from Annapurna’s Bounty, Indian Food Legends Retold by Veena Gokhale
Michael Greenstein Flesh by David Szalay which is longlisted for the Booker Prize
Poetry: Muttertongue is reviewed by Dawn Macdonald
Review of the Week
The Antifa Comic Book, Revised and Updated by Gord Hill
Along with clouds of cigar smoke, the late film noir director Samuel Fuller liked to puff out advice on storytelling. Don’t over-explain, he counselled. “Two words: show it!”
Fiction
When I Became Never by Nathalie Guilbeault
When I Became Never is a novel that complements Nathalie Guilbeault’s earlier work, Inhaled, the story of Isabelle Duval’s entanglement with Benjamin Rodriguez, her struggles to break free, and her recovery. In When I Became Never, she explores the roots of Benjamin Rodriguez’s sociopathic personality, the subtle and overt factors that create such a per…
Non-Fiction
A Season in the Okanagan by Bill Arnott
Love letters are nothing new to England’s Lake District. Poet William Wordsworth extolled its picturesque mountains and lakes, its daffodils “dancing in the breeze.” The Cumbrian region also inspired children’s author Beatrix Potter, though rather differently. What danced for Bea were thoughts of thieving rabbits.
Poetry
Lillian Allen, Gary Barwin and Gregory Betts’ Muttertongue: What is a word in utter space
Muttertongue is a cacophonous, multifarious and entirely thrilling concatenation of sounds and styles, a controlled explosion produced where dub meets concrete (poetry). The project includes a book and an album. You should listen to the album first, then read the book, then re-read the book while listening to the album, and then probably go lie down for…
Interview
Interview with Lynda Williams
Lynda Williams is an incredible short fiction writer, and I had the great fortune of mentoring her for two years as part of our certificate program at the Humber School for Writers. The opening story of her brilliant debut short story collection, The Beauty and The Hell Of It
Excerpt
Excerpts from Annapurna’s Bounty, Indian Food Legends Retold by Veena Gokhale
Released in June 2025, by Dundurn Press, Annapurna’s Bounty has appeared on several recommended reading lists including July 2025 Reads for the Rest of Us, Ms Magazine, CBC’s14 Canadian short story collections to read for Short Story Month (May) and Mentioned as a new and upcoming release in an article in Giller Prize’s news,
Michael Greenstein Reviews:
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)
(It’s too hot for hot takes this week, but they will return!)
Emily Weedon’s Drunk Fiction
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 August 26th! The Caledonian is at 856 College Street in Toronto. Drink responsibly, read voraciously!
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Thanks for reading this issue of The Seaboard Review of Books!
James M. Fisher, editor-in-chief
We have two of Bill Arnott's books, and really enjoyed his Holy Grail search. I will be getting this Season in the Okanagan for sure, as we have begun going during the wine festival. There's an excellent writers' festival Wine Country Writers' Festival in Penticton, which made me fall in love with the region all over again. Writing, wine, delicious food, stunning views...what's not to love?!