Katia Grubisic writes in the Montreal Review of Books: "Mary Soderstrom might just be my new favourite writer. She’s been writing for years, and we’ve been reading her for years, but meeting her reveals an energy that is contagious, and a humility that should be. Soderstrom in person is as unassuming, open, and delightful as she is erudite and elegant on the page.... "
Great Reviews for Road through Time
This just in: a terrific review of Road through Time in the April 15 Library Journal that ends: "VERDICT This accessible work about an integral aspect of human life is a must-read for all interested in society, past and present."
And Publishers' Weekly also is laudatory: "Soderstrom constructs a...layperson’s guide in bright, conversational prose, skillfully using her own experiences and just-so stories about the peoples of the past as springboards to exploring humankind’s long history of migration." Publishers' Weekly"
Mary Soderstrom's fifth Non-fiction book is now available soon!
It's always nice when people that you write about like what you write. I'm no musician, and one of the big unknowns about River Music was what musicians might think. In fact, I was so unsure that I went out of my way not to ask musicians I knew what their opinion was.
But to my great delight, the reaction of musicians has been spontaneous and very positive. Here are three:
"Mary, I just finished River Music. I could not put it down. I related so much to the character of Gloria Murray and the plight of the young pianist. I loved it to pieces. "
From Madeleine Owen, lutist and artistic director, Ensemble La Cigale:
"Gloria, is tough and not always likable and yet, I had to recognize some of her difficult choices as merely typical of what a musician, especially a woman, has to do in order to succeed in the competitive world of music."
"River Music nous emporte dans le flot d'une vie musicale riche en émotions. Dans un rythme fluide, Mary Soderstrom transcrit avec finesse la passion intime d'une interprète pour sa musique...difficile de poser le livre avant la fin."
Swept Away by River Music
A Fine Review by Ian McGillis
Check out Mary's Thoughts on Books, Being a New Blog about Books and Writing
Now Available: Making Waves, The Continuing Portuguese Adventure
Buy through Pay Pal on Vehicule's site, or at better bookstores
The Walkable City Keeps on Going: New Review in the Canadian Literature
"Soderstrom would readily admit that her general argument in favour of pedestrian-friendly communities is not a new one: walkability is a firmly established principle of sustainability-oriented planning. However, the book serves as a fine, up-to-date introduction to this still-pertinent issue. Soderstrom’s judiciously selective overview of the history of walking and its changing place in urban life (from Roman settlements to nineteenth-century Paris to post-war North American suburbs to newer master-planned communities in Brazil and Singapore) makes engaging, informative reading for the generalist or readers new to the topic." Maia Joseph in Canadian Literature: A Quarterly of Criticsm and Review.
The Walkable City Gets Praise from Urbanist Christopher Leinberger
"Mary Soderstrom's The Walkable City addresses one of the most important environmental, economic, social, public health and foreign policy issues of our day that is also the most unexpected and simplest; building walkable urban places. Using an approach I personally enjoy, taking a long historical perspective from pre-history through the various ages of city building, Ms. Soderstrom demonstrates that we as a civilization know how to build walkable cities. We just have to speed up our efforts." Christopher Leinberger, The Brookings Institution
The Walkable City: Haussmann's Boulevards to Jane Jacobs Street
Now available from independent booksellers and on Amazon.ca. Véhicule Press. ISBN: 978-1-55065-243-7
Mary on that other revolutionary Malcolm, Malcolm Gladwell
Kim Barry Brunhuber seems to like The Violets of Usambara a lot: his review "These diamonds are a girl's worst enemy" appeared in The Globe and Mail Saturday, June 14, 2008. He says "the novel is a wonderfully matter-of-fact portrayal of two pragmatic characters struggling to find themselves and reconnect with each other." Check it out.
The book is available at independent bookstores and Chapters/Indigo stores throughout Canada and online through Amazon.ca, which will ship to the US.
Click here for more about the story behind The Violets of Usambara
Green City, Mary Soderstrom's Take on the Green Paradox
One of The Globe and Mail's 100 Best Books of 2007
Mary Soderstrom est une écrivaine montréalais qui s'intéresse à la chose politique depuis bien longtemps. Québécoise et canadienne d'adoption, elle est anglophone, donc vos corrections de son français seront très bienvenus.
All text and photos in this blog are the work of Mary Soderstrom unless otherwise indicated, and so are copyright in her name under Canadian copyright laws. Please have the courtesy to ask before you reproduce.
Smoke in the Metro Means Fire under Agents Provcateurs, Me Thinks
This morning after Montreal's Metro was closed during rush hours because of smoke bombs planted in several stations, I spent far too much time looking for references to "agents provocateurs" in the current student protests agains tuition hikes.
Far too frequently, outside agitators linked to the forces of law and order or the powers that be have been instrumental in firing up demonstrations that turn nasty. A completely confirmed case dates from 2007 when police forces admitted having undercover agents in the crowd at Montebello during a summit of North American leaders.
But what I found for "agent provacateur Montreal"
today was just a bunch of soft-porn underwear ads for a London-based lingerie boutique which has a shop in the classy Holt Renfrew department store.
Don't think that's the same thing, although given the protest last week where everyone showed up in their undies maybe the shop has been influential on the political front too.
No comments:
Post a Comment