17 for 2017: Vivek Shraya recommends The Mothers

3. The Mothers by Brit Bennett recommended by Vivek Shraya.

Throughout my tenure as the December Writer-In-Residence, I will be assembling a list of 17 must-read-books for 2017. To accomplish this numerically satisfying task, I have asked 17 people whose work I adore to suggest one title for the list. Consult the end of each post for the growing list of recommendations!  

I’ve just returned from spending 3 months on the road with prolific, multi-disciplinary artist Vivek Shraya. You learn many things about a person while on tour: dining choices (nachos), hotel room rituals (no shoes), problem solving strategies (naps), and methods of public resistance (selfies). You also have opportunity to revel – night after night – in the talent of another. Vivek is a dynamic performer, a diligent collaborator, and a thoughtful and integrated member of many publics. While on the road with me, she was also opening for Tegan and Sara with her band Too Attached. Are you looking for the ultimate holiday gift for kids? Might I suggest her latest book The Boy and the Bindi, just out with Arsenal Pulp Press.

From Vivek:

One of my favourite books of 2016 is The Mothers by Brit Bennett. As an artist whose own work often circles around my own mother, I was enraptured by this novel that offered multiple and intergenerational perspectives on motherhood. The book also features the kind of writing that I seek in a novel--where every word is carefully considered.

Stay tuned as we build the ultimate 2017 reading list! A new suggestion from an inspired thinker emerges every-other-day for the month of December on open-book.ca.

17 for 2017:

1. Mariko Tamaki recommends The Land of Forgotten Girls
2. Sheila Heti recommends The Normal Personality: A New Way of Thinking about People 

December Writer-In-Residence

Chase Joynt is a filmmaker and writer. His latest two films Genderize and Between You and Me are now streaming live online with CBC Digital Docs. His first book, You Only Live Twice (co-authored with Mike Hoolboom) was published by Coach House Books and just named one of the Best Books of 2016 by The Globe and Mail and CBC. His second book The Case of Agnes (co-authored with Kristen Schilt) is forthcoming from Duke University Press.