Corey Redekop is a Canadian bibliophile, and Shelf Monkey is his first book.

And it´s a damn good one.

Funny and deeply light, it´s like Douglas Adams meets Rex Murphy, rents a hotel room for the weekend and indulges in wild, uninhibited, cunning linguistics.

After such a satisfying tale, do not be surprised by the urge to light up a cigarette even if you don´t actually smoke.

Seriously though, this is a booklover´s book.

Redekop´s gone where several authors would absolutely shudder at the mere thought of treading. Redekop lambasts, with savage glee, the popular & banal drek that passes for mainstream literature these days.

Here, indeed, the pen is mightier than any sword.

Summary:

Munroe Purvis is a talk show host and shameless publisher of bilious drivel. His power over the minds of his fans is an affront to those literate front line warriors in the trenches of the retail bookshelves. Yet their heart felt recommendations fall on deaf ears as the Purv´s consuming sheep care only to delve into books that carry a Munroe Purvis stamp of approval.

Something must be done.

Seen through the eyes of Thomas Friesen, a superb milquetoastian hero on the run from the law, the twisted tale of the Shelf Monkey´s revenge is a bookreader´s self-righteous romp through the aisles, peppered with delightful tips of the hat to great storytellers (and sly recommendations to various great works that I will add to my already toppling pile of Must Reads).

Equally compelling is the Redecop´s Hannibal Lectorish verbal evisceration of those authors/paperbacks of less-than-stellar prose who somehow make it to the NYT best seller lists.

Corey, buddy. We who are about to die from laughter, salute you.

The only thing I would humbly ask is in the second edition the author might conveniently list the Shelf Monkey´s Recommendations by title and author name in the back.

Anne Michael's beautifully written first novel, Fugitive Pieces, is in a class all by itself. I drank it in, like an elixir. Although giving witness to the most painful of human experiences, loss of family, this is a story of love and resilence.

While the Nazis may have done their worst to make us doubt our humanity, Michael's story illustrates that they could never stamp out what guides us to "follow our better angels" so that we look after and protect one another.

Here's the summary from Amazon.com, which does not convey what was, to me, an an experience of hope, not despair.

My husband, who pursued a doctorate in philosophy and cannot be bothered reading most fiction, picked it up, finished it, and declared it exceptional.

Somehow Michaels, a Canadian poet, has managed to write page-turning prose that is, at the same time, poetry. This author is, indeed, an artist. Canadians can all be proud.

Elizabeth Bardawill has my deep appreciation for recommending this amazing book to me.

[Disclaimer: The LWS executive reserves the right to edit any book review submitted. Also - we are sorry - but we are unable to pay for reviews at this time.]