Jacob's Dilemma

Some Hellish by Nicholas Herring is a charming blend of contemporary, philosophical, and slice-of-life fiction. It follows the expedition of a PEI lobster fisherman and his complicated relationship with himself, his life, and those around him. It is a reflective and empathic journey toward forgiveness, transformation, and love that also manages to balance the harsh realities of substance abuse, self-hatred, and regret.

The story follows a middle-aged lobster fisher named Herring, who leads a semi-impoverished life on the ocean harbours of Prince Edward Island. His life is falling apart at the seams: he buries the family dog on Christmas Eve, his wife and children leave him, he is in a constant losing battle against alcohol and financial struggle, his reputation is quickly dwindling, and his living room is now left with an enormous hole in the floor after a fit of blind anger. After being saved from a drunken truck crash by a group of passing monks, Herring and his similarly troubled friend, Gerry, go lobster fishing on the M&M (Herring's boat), high on acid, to cope with the misery of their lives. After a careless accident, Herring falls overboard and is lost at sea for days, presumed dead. But just when the world begins to mourn his loss, he miraculously survives, coming back to his broken life a new man: determined, bald, and willing to do better.

I found Some Hellish to be a beautifully written, thought-provoking work of literature in which I was thoroughly immersed until the very end, which gave me an equally undeniable impression that lasted even days after reading. It did an honest job of crawling inside the human psyche and exposing man's darkest, most vile contemplations and his most passionate aspirations and perseverance toward fulfillment and purpose. It did not hesitate to call out the thoughts that we hate to-- or would never—admit thinking (ex., secretly wanting a friend to suffer after they've wronged you or admitting to admiring the virtues we lack in someone we hate).
Additionally, it could paint a vivid, realistic picture of the Maritime lobster fisherman lifestyle, describing the realities of its intense physical toils, the general uneducated, drunken, anti-technological societal outlook, the turbulent weather, poverty and often quite disgusting normalcies of animal guts and lack of personal hygiene. (Needless to say, it isn't sunshine, lollipops and rainbows…).
I found the book's honest portrayal of both psychological and environmental aspects admirable, and I caught myself guiltily relating to Herring but happily comparing his unfortunate circumstances to my own many a time.

Though I found the book to be a bit slow in terms of plot progression, as most of it centred around character development and the slow harbour life rather than an action-filled overarching narrative like most stories, I ironically found that its sluggishness and focus on the people and personality rather than plot added to the charm, portraying itself as true-to-life and ultimately a story I enjoyed reading through. (After all, real life isn't a 24/7 MARVEL comic-book story with bad guys to defeat and cities to save… in truth, we're all living Herrings in one way or another.)

My favourite line from this book is:
"Well, at the end of it all," he said, "I guess you could say that I was willing to die so that people could eat. No matter all the stupid shit I've done, I'll always have this. Be able to say this about myself. And that's not nothing, huh." (paragraph 1, page 311)

In all, while Some Hellish may not be everyone's cup of tea (and if you can't stand the thought of reading the obscure existential crises of a middle-aged drunkard for 325 pages, this may truly be some hellish for you…), it is undoubtedly a book that merits its prestigious Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and one that deserves the recognition and praise it has now. With its poetic disquisition, memorable characters and environment, thoughtful philosophical overtones and humane message of hope, it is a truly unforgettable experience that I strongly urge any stoic, deep-thinker and enjoyer of moving storylines to dive into.

Overall, I give the book a solid 4.7 out of 5 rating. I recommend this book!

“The Last Time I Saw Her” by Alexandra Harrington is a thrilling novel that delves into the complexities of love, loss, and redemption. Reading this novel was a rollercoaster of emotions with its suspenseful storyline. I couldn’t put it down for weeks! I found it alluring that I’ve either visited or knew all the places that were mentioned in the book, making it easier to visualize the locations that took place, which brought the settings to life.

We follow the protagonist, Charlotte, a compelling and well-developed character who goes through many broken relationships throughout the novel. She visits her hometown, River John, after leaving unannounced for a year to boarding school. Everyone was shocked at her returning, and her best friend, Sophie, was now a stranger. What could she do in her power to restore her friendship with Sophie, be involved in Sean’s life again, reunite with Leo, or build a brand new relationship with Max? What if things aren’t the same? Who knows how much could change or what could be ruined in just a year? Home didn’t feel like home to Charlotte.

The unexpected plot twists and turns were my favorite part of the novel, keeping me on the edge of my seat. Reading the vivid portrayal of the characters’ emotions felt like it transported me into their world. Each of their struggles and heavy secrets resonated with me, and I found myself becoming emotionally invested in their fates. My heart sank for Charlotte each and every time she came to a new realization.

Alexandra Harrington’s style of writing was captivating, and admirable. She uses compelling dialogues, and descriptive language to inform the readers exactly what she wants. Harrington expressed and described each character’s individual feelings perfectly and got the readers to resonate with the characters very well, making it easy for me to immerse myself in the story. I also appreciated how the author addressed thought-provoking themes and issues, adding depth to the comprehensive story.

Overall, “The Last Time I Saw Her” was a captivating and well-written novel that kept me eagerly excited for the next chapter. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a compelling mystery with a strong emotional core.

Firekeeper by Katłįą has so many layers. It’s the story of a girl who is in need of healing, and her journey towards that. Even though this is a work of fiction, it is the story of so many. It reminds me of the book I read a while back, Realizing A Good Life. In that book, the author interviewed many men, most of whom were Indigenous, and these men would tell their stories of their lives. How their lives fell apart due to bad decisions and bad influences in their lives. That’s what happens to Nyla in this story. How her life came to be a certain way, and how she deals with what life throws at her.

It’s almost like a story of survival, at least that’s a part of it. It’s Nyla’s survival story. There’s so much of this book that I think is important, and like I said with Realizing a Good Life, these stories are so heartbreaking. I do recommend that others read stories like this, as a learning experience so that they don’t go down that path.
If I’ve learned anything, it’s that it’s a long, dark road that sucks you in and makes it hard to get back out. A world where there’s no one to trust and nothing to fall back on.

Firekeeper is a journey through so many things, but the most important thing is the ending and the lessons learned from it. Healing of the mind, body, and soul.
I recommend this book to those who are on a healing journey of their own, and perhaps this book can serve as a reminder or some motivation to never give up hope 🤍

In this collection of emotionally earnest and - as is only appropriate to call them - guttural short stories, Chris Benjamin explores in anthological format the deceptively simple guiding theme that this collection is named after: Boy With A Problem is about people with problems. This collection does not interest itself in demonstrating the characters finding solutions to these problems, nor does it always lend its efforts to granting the characters impetus or motivation in ways that a similar setup may have been forced to with a longer medium. Each of the twelve stories in this collection are designed to be raw slices of mind, a snowglobe of time in each viewpoint character's life, during which there is nothing to distract them from the problems that they have allowed to define them.

Benjamin's prose blurs the line between poetic observation and perceptional realism, displaying the world through his characters' eyes and experience in ways unique to them: each story can be heard in a distinctly different voice than all the others, despite sharing an author in reality. While this fanciful style of depiction may hinder a longer novel, for this short story collection format, I find it to be simply proper: the only honest way in which these characters could be allowed to speak, so as to be heard in the way that Benjamin wishes for the reader to hear them.

All told, a heady but fascinating read, one that I would recommend breaking up between several days, as Benjamin's unique way of seizing the reader's stomach in a frigid grip as his characters' souls trounce you in an acidic staring contest is, while entertaining, best taken in doses than meals. Importantly, several stories in Boy With A Problem contain sensitive and mature themes, such as sexual violence, internalized homophobia, and substance abuse, and as such is not necessarily suited to a younger audience.

Book review: The Last Time I Saw Her: Written by: Alexandra Harrington
Bookreviewer: Fifi Chen

Rating out of 5: 4/5

This book was amazing! From the plot, characters, and the events that happened in the novel, I was intrigued and interested! Although I found the book hard to continue in the beginning as it was telling us the background story and everything, the suspense of what really happened to Charlotte that made her move to a brand-new boarding school without saying goodbye to any of her friends, Sophie and Max. By the time the author reveals the mystery, I understand why Charlotte left so abruptly, and can tell from her point of view why she needed a break.

Charlotte is such a strong character, despite everything she’s been through, she still takes her responsibility and comes back to her hometown River John, Nova Scotia, in hopes of fixing her friendships. As for the mystery part of the story, as much as I liked the thought and the suspense accelerating, I found the explanation too short. Everything happens so fast, and it’s difficult to keep up with what the characters are saying. I also felt that we did not get Charlotte to tell us how she felt as well.

What I really liked about this novel was the relationship between Charlotte and Max. The amount of trust they have together and how complicated things have been together, they still end up being together and perfectly happy. I tremendously disliked Max’s father as he was manipulative and only made his son feel bad about himself.

For the setting of the story, I adored how it took place in Nova Scotia, as it gave us a vision of what Nova Scotia was like to those who have never been there before. It’s common to find books in big places like New York or Washington, and I liked how it was at a small place instead. I believe some places in the books were also real places in our world like Dalhousie, an actual university we can attend!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book for young readers as well as those who enjoy the genre's mystery, suspense as well as a bit of romance. You will be hooked eventually and I totally fell in love with the plot!

-Fifi Chen