My dog died very suddenly recently of massive organ failure, and I have no answers as to why. My heart is broken, and as I grieve, I turn to media that is fit to nurse a mournful condition. Below are books that I rediscover when I need to leave this painful world behind.
Who doesn’t love a bit of gay romance and science fiction? T.J. Klune’s The Bones Beneath My Skin is a departure from his more saccharine offerings, like his Cerulean Sea schmaltz. When I want to feel the love, but I want it to hurt, this book delivers.
Another one that totally shows you the harsh side of loving life is by a Canadian author, and every word is true. Wild Swans by University of Toronto professor Jung Chang is a hefty tome, and it tells the story of her grandmother fleeing a Chinese warlord, followed by her mother standing her ground against the Kuomintang, and wrapping up with the author herself becoming disillusioned with her place amongst Chairman Mao’s red army and fleeing to Canada. Wild swans indeed.
Another book that makes my dark heart sing is Devil’s Knot by Mara Leveritt. It’s true crime at it’s best, and, boy howdy, this book will mess you right up. You’ll be too busy getting furious at the legal system and orchestrating a crusade against judge Barnett to worry about whatever this brutal universe is throwing at you.
A book I pick up whenever my heart is sore and I need some reprieve is Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. It’s like Rupi Kaur before Rupi Kaur was a thing. Soft poetry full of metaphors for getting messed up on homemade booze that will take you out of yourself.
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart will bring you some more queer tears of gay joy, as you also slowly wish you were dead. It’s fantastic. Set in the brutal streets of impoverished Glasgow, a young man finds some semblance of peace when he meets a strange boy his age that hates the thug life and loves his dovecote. Pigeons are cool, and we owe them our adoration.
If you’ve been smacked in the heart with a horrible thing that you’re not sure how to navigate, and you need to just lose yourself forever in a book series, then I have just the ticket. The Three Pines series by Louise Penny will sweep you away into a different world, and if you’re like me and miss Montreal with every fibre of your being, there are so many nods to la belle province. Each book has a murder mystery at its heart and a warm soul to carry you through. There are roughly 20 books, and they are all golden. My favourites are The Brutal Telling and A Trick of the Light, but I highly encourage you to go in order, starting with Still Life. This series is so worth it.
These are the books I have stacked in teetering towers around my bed as I try to figure out who I am without my sweet boy, Mr. Gabby. My reading list gets more adventurous when I’m not just trying to carry on in the face of horrendous heartache, but, I promise you, if you’re having the blues, these titles will take care of you.
Wish me luck as I delve into a new Allan Bradley book and try to forget and remember at the same time.