Canadian Literature

The Canadian Literature Collection highlights the diversity and talent of Canadian authors. Representing the broad range of genres and traditions reflected in Candian Literature, this Collection includes fiction by Margaret Atwood, John Irving, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and other Canadian writers who have shaped the nation's literary canon.

Publication year 2019

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Religion & Spirituality, Gender Identity, Community, Friendship, Family, Self Discovery, Conflict, Immigration

Tags Gender & Feminism, LGBTQ+, Immigration & Refugeeism, Religion & Spirituality, Biography

Publication year 2016

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Education, Perseverance

Tags Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, World History, Canadian Literature

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Memory, Mental Health, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Objects & Materials, Place, Self Discovery, Fate, Good & Evil, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, LGBTQ+, Religion & Spirituality, Horror & Suspense

Publication year 2024

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Gender Identity, Justice, Religion & Spirituality, Perseverance, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Coming of Age, Death, The Past, Self Discovery, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos

Tags Psychology, Philosophy, Self-Improvement, Religion & Spirituality

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags LGBTQ+, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Canadian Literature

What We All Long For, written by Dionne Brand and published in 2005, tells the overlapping stories of four friends in their early- to mid-20s as they navigate Toronto as queer people, people of color, and children of immigrants.Content Warning: The source material and this guide contain instances and discussions of suicide, racism, and abuse.Tuyen is a queer woman and the daughter of Vietnamese immigrant refugees. When her parents fled Vietnam, they were separated from... Read What We All Long For Summary

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Community, Gender Identity

Tags Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, Historical Fiction, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Miriam Toews’s Women Talking (2018) is a novel set in the fictional Mennonite colony of Molotschna. It follows a group of the colony’s women as they discuss how to respond to the discovery that many of their menfolk have been anesthetizing and raping them for years. The book is inspired by actual events that took place between 2005 and 2009 in a remote Mennonite colony in Bolivia. There, eight men were discovered to have been... Read Women Talking Summary

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Childhood & Youth, Animals, Environment, Power & Greed

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure, Humor, Animals, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction