

Welcome to the February 2025 ORB Issue
The core reviewers of the Ottawa Review of Books are all hunkered down under piles of snow as they plough through their literary reviews....


Black Ice by Thomas King
Reviewed by Wendy Hawkin Most Canadians will pick up Thomas King’s latest novel, check out the cover, and think the story involves a...


Question Authority by Mark Kingwell
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann Much of the world today is in a crisis of trust. Our societies are polarized; our faith in our...


The Fun Times Brigade by Lindsay Zier-Vogel
Reviewed by Jerry Levy On the face of it, they seemed to have little in common, Max, a math professor (whose specialities include...


Near Distance by Hanna Stoltenberg
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann This first novel by Norwegian author Hanna Stoltenberg, explores the relationship between a mother and her...


Lost Lives by Noah Chinn
Reviewed by Robert Runté Lost Lives is the third book in the Get Lost Saga, currently a trilogy. Chinn has hinted he might write more...


Merry Christmas 2024!
ORB’s Yuletide issue features five review from our core reviewers, four fiction and one non-fiction. Leading off is Arrested Song, Irena...


Arrested Song by Irena Karafilly
Reviewed by Ian Thomas Shaw Irena Karafilly’s Arrested Song takes readers on a compelling journey through contemporary Greek history, as...


Other Maps by Rebecca Morris
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann Anna Leverett’s father is retiring, and Anna has flown home to Guelph from Costa Rica, where she had been...


The Corpse with the Pearly Smile by Cathy Ace
Reviewed by Wendy Hawkin As do all of Cathy Ace’s cozy Cait Morgan mysteries, number thirteen springs from the setting; in this case,...

