Pastoral | 
I finally started my PASTORAL reread last night! When I first read RING, the final book in the interconnected cycle that starts here, I called it a book to fully inhabit. Revisiting the quincunx in publication order, it occurs to me that all Alexis‘s books are like that. I hope I‘ll have the time to really wallow in this one later today.
This week‘s library haul. I wanted to reread André Alexis‘s full quincunx in publication order in September, but somebody else nabbed the only copy of PASTORAL as soon as I went to request it and they kept it out for the full three weeks. Now it‘s finally MINE!
I also realized I had no idea what was even nominated for the Hugo this year, so I looked that up and I‘m gonna tackle the list over the next month or two.
pickI started PASTORAL yesterday afternoon and didn‘t willingly put it down until I‘d finished. It demanded I stay immersed in it; that I live the seasons alongside the characters as they navigated miracles, questioned loves, and interrogated Nature‘s role in their lives. It‘s a far less weird book than some of Alexis‘s others, but damn. It still packs a good, quiet, personal punch.
pickI read this book because it is structured after Beethoven's 6th Symphony but discovered the town of Barrow, a small cast of characters, and earnest exploration of a few ideas like love and faith. I listened to the audio, read by the author.
pickThere are two ways to interpret the title of this meditative, elegant novel. Pastoral in the sense of spiritual guidance—the MC is a young Black priest in his first parish—& in the literary sense: the setting is small town rural Ontario sometime in the 20th c. The pastor goes through a crisis of faith when he witnesses a mayor walking on water, a talking sheep, & wondrous gypsy moths. #Audiobook narrated in a rich baritone by the #CanadianAuthor.
I wouldn‘t have guessed that I would read three pastorals in 2018. Before this year, I didn‘t have more than a vague idea about what exactly constituted a pastoral, in the literary sense. It‘s a work that portrays an idealized version of country life. I really enjoyed all three of these.
pickLots of great #onewordtitles out there I could choose for #riotgrams but I don't think this one got enough attention. Pastoral is a fantastic short novel about a priest who goes to a small rural town outside of Toronto where seemingly miraculous things start happening to him. Beautiful, briskly paced, thoughtful and entertaining. Highly recommended.
My Fun Friday Photo. Canadian literature! That hard to see one is Margaret Atwoods excellent poems The Journals of Susanna Moodie. Also, check out Pastoral by André Alexis, it's amazing. Also pictured, Seymour (he's the cat).
