Grab your passport and experience the art, cuisine, and cultural traditions of nineteen different destinations from your own digs. From Morocco to Indonesia to Spain, veteran backpacker and writer Trevor Carolan has the itinerary prepared. These lush settings, mouth-watering meals, and insightful conversations with locals will inspire you to keep your own travelogue in the future.
Watch clouds of steam drift up into the sky above a changing landscape and feel the tracks beneath you as you press your cheek against the train window. Behold the beauty and turmoil of Canada from coast to coast as award-winning poet Meredith Quartermain celebrates the country’s distinct voices while also scrutinizing its colonial past. The musical prose in her collection Lullabies in the Real World embodies the enduring rhythm of a locomotive for that added touch of travel.
by Marion Poschmann, translated by Jen Calleja (Coach House Books)
Overcome ennui in this Man Booker-shortlisted translation by Jen Calleja. Join protagonist Gilbert Silvester as he escapes from his unsatisfactory life to Japan and follows in the footsteps of haiku master Bashō. Along the way, he forges a friendship with Yosa, who plans to end his life, and together they head for the islands of Matsushima in search of fulfillment.
Buckle up and try not to press any more of the shiny switches of this time machine as it hurtles towards a dystopian future set in Alberta, year 2058. Willa Van Bruggen tries to do everything in her power to keep the family business afloat as the province reels from the effects of climate change. Doreen Vanderstoop’s cautionary tale (where water is currency) is one of love and human resilience.
Whew, that was a trip! Now take a long sip of coconut water and settle down with this refreshing and heartwarming collection of short stories from South Asian author Derek Mascarenhas. Join the Pinto family in 1950s Goa, India and bask in the experiences of each generation as circumstances lead them to present-day Canada. Its themes of immigration, belonging, and personal growth paint a vivid picture of the homes we discover, and the ones we leave behind.
