Winter 2008

Nothing is Free reinforces the indisputable fact that Carolyn Mark is a simply superb songwriter. Period.

The standout here is “Pictures at 5,” the witty heartbreaker that features the refrain that became the title of her fourth CD, one that could proudly stand alongside the best of Mary Chapin Carpenter and Lucinda Williams:

“She was long, tall and blonde and drinking white wine/parked in the spot that used to me mine/ But I gotta confess, I was strangely impressed/I thought ‘Mmm, lace panties’ when I looked up her dress.”

Even with your eyes open and the book firmly in your hands, you might think you’re dreaming as you read The Breakdown So Far. The collection of ultra-short stories by M.A.C Farrant is a quirky hodgepodge with a distinctly other-worldly quality.

Farrant herself references this dreaminess in the story “There was a Forklift.” One bird plays bingo; another, dressed in leather, reads poetry. The story, a nine-sentence series of images, ends: “Perhaps, in dreaming,
something new….”

Given that my reading of the mystery genre ended back in the Encyclopedia Brown days, I took a deep breath before launching into The Skin Beneath, which bills itself as lesbian mystery. I needn’t have worried— there were no over-the-top twists, clichés or predictable resolutions to be found in Nairne Holtz’s first novel. The plot is multi-layered and well-paced, the writing is smart with a literary sensibility and the characters are vivid and full.

Karlene Faith’s latest book spans the experiences of 13 women from prisons across the continent over several decades. For any who still cling to a notion that the new prisons for women in Canada are “club feds,” these stories provide incontrovertible evidence of the profound and indelible impact of prison upon the spirits and psyches of these women, and the manners in which the impact ripples through the women, their families and their communities forever after. The public is led to believe that correctional facilities aim to rehabilitate the miscreants deposited in them.

Like any right-thinking 20-year-old hipster, Hayley Sales counts among the musicians she admires Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and Dave Matthews. The difference between Sales and her contemporaries is that she is competition for any of aforementioned singer-songwriters. Sales’ first major-label release, Sunseed, is a triumph. With a feel-good message, philosophy-light lyrics and fancy fret work, the first single, “What You Want,” is Jack Johnson meets Norah Jones.

While Cara Luft may not be a household name, her sound will be familiar to roots audiences as one-third of the original Wailin’ Jennys. She has now ventured out on her own with The Light Fantastic. On songs like “Give it Up” and “No Strength,” Luft comes across like a grown-up rebel girl.