ORB October 2025 Issue
Welcome to the Canadian Thanksgiving issue of the Ottawa Review of Books . As autumn’s colours blaze around us and the unseasonably warm days linger, there is much to be grateful for. The ceasefire in Gaza appears to be holding, allowing Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to reunite with their families. Children can play outside now without the deadly sound of drones or sirens announcing incoming missiles. The guns have fallen silent and the leaders of the world ar
Self Care by Russell Smith
Reviewed by Tim Niedermann Gloria, a woman in her mid-twenties, is a freelance writer whose weekly column, “Daily Self Care,” appears in the Hype Report, an on-line magazine. It doesn’t pay well, but at least she has a job, a thought that occurs to her often. She shares an apartment with Autumn, a woman her age who is depressed, even suicidal at times. And she is close friends with Isabel, but lately she feels Isabel is hiding something from her. Gloria’s relationships with m
The Unravelling of Ou by Hollay Ghadery
Reviewed by Wayne Ng If mastery of an art form is like growing a limb of imagination, then Hollay Ghadery has several arms. From memoir to poetry, flash fiction to long form, she wields each with striking control and instinct. Her latest work, The Unravelling of Ou , fuses them all—a novel that grips the reader like a hand around the throat of a secret. From its fragmented opening lines, the book disorients: a work of prose that moves like poetry, confession, and hallucinatio
Baldwin, Styron, and Me by Mélikah Abdelmoumen
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann James Baldwin and William Styron, two iconic American writers, were close friends. Although they had met before, the friendship bloomed during the several months in 1961 Baldwin stayed with Styron and his family at their house in Roxbury, Connecticut. Baldwin was an intense man and in addition to being a writer, was a dedicated civil rights activist. Styron is best known for Sophie’s Choice , his blockbuster best-seller, which became a successfu
The Never Witch by JP McLean
Reviewed by Wendy Hawkin From the masterfully crafted opening line to the cheeky last comment, The Never Witch will keep you spellbound. McLean has a talent for creating unique supernatural worlds, so real they could actually exist in contemporary Vancouver. In this, the first of the Thorne Witch series, we’re introduced to a sophisticated world order of witches and warlocks who intermingle with humans. That in itself may not seem new—we’ve certainly met them before—but McLe
Starship Librarians edited by Shannon Allen and JR Campbell
Reviewed by Robert Runté When I first selected this collection for review, I had assumed it would be an example of cozy SF. I imagined quiet little stories about the library of the future: massive collections of all knowledge like in ancient Alexandria, or a compact, one-room, repurposed kitchenette storing the space colony’s tiny stack of pioneer journals and memoirs. Starship librarians would be these approachable, all-knowing guides to lead seekers to the one precise volum
Welcome to ORB’s September 2025 Issue
It’s back-to-school season, and time once again to hit the books. With the demands of classrooms, workplaces, and endless inboxes, it can...
Land of No Regrets by Sadi Muktadir
Reviewed by Ian Thomas Shaw Few novels win me over unless I can connect with the characters, the narrative, or the setting. Elegant...
