Here’s two I’ve managed to complete in the Christmas New Year lull…
The other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson (Chatto & Windus, London, 2006)
The tragic outcomes of sibling rivalry span two generations in a remote Canadian farming community – not too remote to be unaffected by unfolding world events such as the Great Depression and the Second World War however. A well written page-turner.
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (Fourth Estate 2007)
Another Canadian author tells a story of an 18th century journey from slavery to freedom from a first person perspective. From initial capture in the unmapped interior of Africa, through a horrendous sea journey to captivity in South Carolina, escape to New York, promise of freedom first in Nova Scotia and then Sierra Leone, the female protagonist finally ends up in London as a totem for the abolitionist cause. A well-researched gripping read, given that some estimates of the trade in human traffic are at its most prolific today.
Wondering Pilgrim 