Fall reading is coming in hot this year, and I couldn’t be more excited. September is one of my favourite months of the year not only because fall is officially almost here, but also because of the way it helps me reset my reading life. September is, to me, a month of transition; technically, most of the month is actually still summer, but with the return to school, slightly shorter days, and that unmistakeable crisp morning air, the promise of autumn inches closer and closer. I am an autumn enthusiast to my core, so I relish these shorter, cozier days and any excuse to curl up with a good book, a woodsy candle, and spend the evening reading.
Here are six books by Canadian authors I’m especially looking forward to:
Oil People by David Huebert | Contemporary/literary fiction with a gothic twist
Part multigenerational family saga, part eco-climate fiction, Huebert’s debut novel places oil at the heart of one family’s tragic unravelling. Set in 1987 and 1862, the story traces the experience of Jade Armbruster, a 13-year-old girl living on a vintage oil farm in Lambton County (southwestern Ontario) with her parents and older sister. The farm was inherited from Jade’s ancestor, Clyde Armbruster, who, in the early years of the 1860s, strikes gold when he hits the county’s first gusher. Alternating between the dual perspectives, secrets about the Armbrusters emerge, highlighting the ever escalating tensions between family and neighbours, wealth and loyalty, ego and the natural world.
Read if you love: When There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy & Florida by Lauren Groff
Moon Road by Sarah Leipciger | Contemporary fiction
This story is an intimate look at one couple’s marriage and subsequent deterioration over the course of one cross-country road trip from small-town Ontario to British Columbia. Kathleen and Yannick have been separated for 19 years when they receive news from B.C. that they must face and reconcile together. In fact, they haven’t even spoken since their separation after a tragic event with their daughter pulled them apart. Details and secrets about their lives emerge as they embark on their journey of recovery, rediscovery, and reconciliation through the Canadian landscape.
Read if you love: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout & Monogamy by Sue Miller
Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb | Romantic comedy
With Elsie Silver and Brynne Weaver on the rise, Canadian romance is having a moment right now. But if you’re into romances that are a little less spicy, Kate Robb might be for you. With a hint of magical realism, Robb’s sophomore novel explores what happens when a newly divorced 30-year-old finds herself in the world of Carson’s Cove, her favourite teen soap from the 2000s. Swept up in the swoon-worthy nostalgia of her favourite comfort show, she begins to believe in love again.
Read if you love: You, With a View by Jessica Joyce & Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane
Hi, It’s Me by Fawn Parker | Literary fiction
A deeply profound and emotional novel about mothers and daughters, Hi, It’s Me looks at death and grief through Fawn’s experience of losing her mother. When her mother dies, she must return to the farmhouse (which her mother shared with four other women) to clean out her room and sort through her belongings. Throughout this process, Fawn struggles not only with the tangibility of her grief—the physicality of her mother’s things a constant reminder of her loss—but also with her own compulsive tendencies to document and archive her memory.
Read if you love: Women Talking by Miriam Toews & Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley
real ones by katherena vermette | Literary fiction
real ones is a complicated story about sisterhood, mother and daughter relationships, and Indigenous identity. It follows two Michif sisters, Lyn and June, who recently discover through a media frenzy that their estranged white mother, Renee, has been outed as a “pretendian” (someone who falsely lays claim to Indigenous identity). Under the name Raven Bearclaw, Renee has won wealth and fame as an “Indigenous” artist through Indigenous art practices. In the wake of this controversy, Lyn and June are forced to confront their traumatic upbringing as they get embroiled in their mother’s web of secrets and lies.
Read if you love: Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson & Probably Ruby by Lisa Bird-Wilson
The Wedding by Gurjinder Basran | Contemporary fiction
You’ve all heard of The Wedding People but have you heard of The Wedding? With equal parts humour, emotional depth, and cultural commentary, this is the perfect juicy family drama to sink into this fall. Devi and Baby are getting married, but as anyone in Sikh- and South Asian-Canadian communities knows, their union is as much about the larger network of family and friends as it is about the couple itself. As they navigate their nuptials, family drama unfolds, traditions are challenged, and cultures clash between Vancouver and Surrey, B.C.
Read if you love: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan & Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Which one of these would you pick up first? Share in the comments below, and I’ll gift one lucky reader their book of choice from this list.
Happy fall reading season!
Moon Road
Oil People sounds EXACTLY like my kind of book!!