On Fatherhood

Praise for the Field Notes series “A clear-eyed assessment of the links between property, policing, and the subjugation of Black people ... Walcott’s analysis of the ways in which white supremacy is baked into the legal systems of Canada and the U.S. is stimulating. Progressives will embrace this well-conceived call for change.”—Publishers Weekly “Running a brief but far-reaching and punchy 96 pages, On Property has an absolute certainty of purpose: calling for the abolition of private property ownership ... [If] statements such as ‘the problem of property is resolved through its removal’ or calls to ‘abolish everything’ can make some people quake, when Walcott’s pamphlet argues for the human ability to reconsider and rebuild societal structures, the stances come across as sensible and, better yet, doable.”—Toronto Star "Rinaldo Walcott locates his contribution to the Field Notes series on current issues, On Property, in the present political moment, while using historical references and events to argue for the abolition of police and property ... Walcott concludes his case by asking for a new ethics of care and economy that does not keep feeding into the incarceration system, a system rigged to continue Black suffering ... It is a question we must ask ourselves after reflecting on the ways in which we, too, are complicit."—Quill & Quire "Kingwell offers a slender, thoughtful, sometimes meandering disquisition on risk that “is inflected (or infected) by the virus, but not precisely about the virus—except as it grants new urgency to old questions of risk and politics. A host of cultural allusions—from Shakespeare to the Simpsons, Isaiah Berlin to Irving Berlin, Voltaire, Pascal, and Derrida—along with salient academic studies inspire Kingwell to examine the many contradictory ways that humans handle risk ... An entertaining gloss on an enduring conundrum."—Kirkus Reviews “Urgent, far-reaching and with a profound generosity of care, the wisdom in On Property is absolute. We cannot afford to ignore or defer its teachings. Now is the time for us-collectively-to take up the challenge in this undeniable gift of a book.”—Canisia Lubrin, author of The Dyzgraphxst and Voodoo Hypothesis Praise for Randy Boyagoda “Boyagoda keeps things moving quickly and imaginatively. He skewers hosts of sinners along the way, but the wit has a winsome empathy behind it. A rollicking, inventive, mostly successful satire—with a vein of seriousness and sadness underneath.”—Kirkus Reviews "A Divine Comedy of our times—a morality play of an Everyman. An ordinary English professor, struggling to hold his marriage together, finds himself working for holy rollers and scheming businessmen. Hysterically funny, but with an underlying sadness—such Heaven and Hell already coexist in America, and in this novel."—John Irving, author of The World According to Garp “The astonishing Boyagoda at his astounding best … Dante’s Indiana is a satirical stunner, a mad Midwestern tour de force and one of the most moving, most incisive maps of our grim contrapasso present you’ll ever read, a novel that is both humblingly humane and soaringly divine. Dante’s Indiana is what would happen if Saunders’ CivilWarLand in Bad Decline and Moby Dick had a prophetic prodigal child. This book is a miracle.”—Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao “Dante’s Indiana is proof that a book can be both entertaining and literary—just like a theme park of Dante’s Inferno. Randy Boyagoda peoples his novels with lovable characters. They’re smart but not wise. Hurting but hopeful. Principled but exploited. The novel is political, satirical, allegorical … and almost a straight-up mirror of our times. This is a book we could all use right now.”—Ian Williams, Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning author of Reproduction "Randy Boyagoda's writing fills me with laughter, delight—and envy. With ambition and an unerring eye for detail, Dante's Indiana conjures a world that is savage, satirical, and unexpectedly tender."—Aravind Adiga, Man Booker Prize-winning author of The White Tiger “Gleaming ...Through his protagonist’s long and eventful life, Randy Boyagoda explores themes of shifting identity, of the diamond-hard determination to evade one’s destiny and of the inner landscapes of an island that itself undergoes a dramatic transformation ... an ambitious book that seeks to convey the sweep of history through the prism of one island. The lush style of Boyagoda’s prose suits the novel.” —The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice) “The Evelyn Waugh of the North."—Books-in-Canada “Governor of the Northern Province’s humour and liveliness are in welcome contrast to the dreary earnestness of so many similar books.”—Quill & Quire “Boyagoda, a sharp and subtle writer, slips easily into many different characters’ heads and their internal rhythms, and lyrical lines abound…A satirical feast.”—The Globe and Mail “A multifaceted, engrossing story … Prepare for a verbal feast that will thoroughly entertain and satisfy, yet leave you hungering for more.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)