Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The Genius of John K. Samson

I was delighted to discover CBC Radio 3's "Song of the Day", newly available as a podcast, is "Utilities" by The Weakerthans. Unreleased on any of their studio albums, it exhibited the wondrous lyrical majesty that is John K. Samson's gift for image through word.

I also finished reading Lullabies for Little Criminals, by Heather O'Neill, the book that the same John K. Samson is championing for Canada Reads 2007. I have to say I liked it less than his previous pick, Miriam Toews' a complicated kindness.

Lullabies
was infuriating, disturbing and distressing, compelling me to read on to see exactly how bad things got, but with enough hope and promise that compelled me to push through for a happy ending. I guess that dichotomy marks the book as one that Canada should read. JKS knows what he's talking about after all.

No comments: