“The Marrow Thieves” by Cherie Dimaline (audio book)

Considering its popularity, this YA novel was not what I expected. It contained quite a bit about the miseries of the indigenous population, and much less SF story telling than I thought it would. The SF aspect seemed just a veneer for exploring the loss of culture, the dehumanization etc etc.

“When We Lost our Heads” by Heather O’Neill

 Much of the book was not a pleasant read. Sadie and Marie were quite callous antiheroes and it contained a lot of sexual violence and inequality, and poverty. Women were used as a disposable commodity. If they died in childbirth or getting an abortion, so be it. Their factory boss or husband or jilted lover moved on to someone else.

And yet, O’Neill tied everything together so nicely that by the end, I actually had to admit that I had enjoyed the book. Additionally, I love the whimsy of O’Neill’s similes. They give her books a magical air. And I always enjoy reading about Montreal.