ALU Summer Book Club: 2022 Edition

From their very first encounter, it would seem that Gwen and Tancred were made for one another. Like all good romances, Ring will bring them together . .. eventually. But first there is, of course, a wrinkle.Gwenhwyfar’s mother, Helen Odhiambo Lloyd, upon intuiting that her daughter is in love, gives her a ring that has been passed down, with three mysterious books, from endless generations of mothers to their daughters. The ring grants the bearer an opportunity to change three things about her beloved – but the ring demands things in return for its miracles.Complete with a long narrative poem about Aphrodite, Ring turns the literary romance upside down and shakes out its pockets as it meditates on the past, on magic, on honour, on faith, and yes, on love.Following on the heels of Pastoral, Fifteen Dogs, The Hidden Keys, and Days by Moonlight, Ring completes Alexis’s Quincunx, a group of five genre-bending, philosophically sophisticated, and utterly delightful novels.Coming up this July:July 6: We chat with Editorial Director of Coach House Alana Wilcox about bringing Ring to life, and read an excerpt from the book.July 13: Author André Alexis answers our pressing questions about the book.July 20: Ring for you to use with your own clubs at home.July 27: We recommend follow-up reads for those who couldn’t get enough of Ring.

After Realism: 24 Stories for the 21st Century is the first anthology to represent the generation of millennial writers now making their mark. Diverse, sophisticated, and ambitious in scope, the short stories in this ground-breaking book are an essential starting point for anyone interested in daring alternatives to the realist tradition that dominated 20th century English-language fiction. After Realism offers twenty-five distinctive talents who are pushing against the boundaries of the “real” in aesthetically and politically charged ways–forging their styles from influences that range from myth to autofiction, sci-fi to fairy tale, documentary to surrealism. Even those who continue to work in the realist tradition are doing so critically, with an eye to renovation. The selection is accompanied by comprehensive and provocative essay by editor André Forget that explains the themes, tendencies and concerns of this group. In bearing witness to an extraordinary flowering of contemporary fiction, After Realism will supply a new standard for Canadian writing.Contributors include: Jean-Marc Ah Sen, Carleigh Baker, Paige Cooper, David Huebert, Jessica Johns, Cody Klippenstein, Julie Mannell, Sofia Mostaghimi, Téa Mutonji, Fawn Parker, Casey Plett, Rudrapriya Rathore, Naben Ruthnum, John Elizabeth Stintzi, and Gavin Thomson.Coming up this August:August 3: After Realism , and share an excerpt from the book.August 10: After Realism.August 17: After Realism and share our discussion questions for you to use with your own book club.August 24: What’s after After Realism? Our recommended follow-up reads let you know.

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Don’t forget: ALU book club picks are 15% off now through August 31, 2022 (and we have free shipping in Canada!). Be sure to pick up Ring and After Realism so you can follow along with all of our book club fun, here and on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with the hashtag #ALUbookclub, all summer long.