@ The Girls’ Guide to
Hinting and Fishing; by. .
Melissa Bank «(Penguin
$19.95) .. ve

Bank’s debut is much ie ore:
han that:. trie, it’s a blow-.

- Bridget. This set of linked
es follows J ¢ from :

elf-awareness with humour:
and an insightful commen-

1 femir

key Beach, by Eden *
Robinson (Knopf,Can
29. ioe

Diamond will be accompa
by: her original: Hug: P
Band in the: Special Noh

brightest — takes the story
of a Kiramaat Village teenag-
er whose family is riddled
with thwarted ambition and
turns it into a magical ghost
tale. Heavy with sadness and

“the scent of the sea, Monkey
‘Beach is buoyed by a sense
‘of quict hope and and a

beautifully-crafted snapshot

of B.C.’s northern wilder-
: ness.

gaa

a Hote! Paradiso, by

Gregor Robinson
(Raincoast, $21.95) ©

Emboldened, perh a8, by-
“the runaway success of the

Harry Porter series it pub-
’. fishes in Canada, Vancouver-

a based Raincoast launched its |

own fiction line back in che |;
fall: Hotel Paradise, by”
Toronto writer Gregor -

: Robinsén, was among them...

It’s the story of David .

:  Rennison, a banker escaping”

Montreal who finagles his
way into running an off-
shore branch on an anony-
mous Bahamian island.
Robinson weaves a slightly
sinister but sensuously
evocative tale of rum cock-
tails, race relations, and
secret love affairs — and the
way reality can skew and sur-
pass expectatioa.

o00
Véra: Mrs. Viadimir
Nabokov, by Stacy Schiff
(Vintage, $22.95) .
Stacy Schiff won a’

- Pulitzer Prize for her liter-

ate, languorous portrayal of
the woman behind the man
zhind Lolita. Véra Nabokov
was like the Yoko Ono of
her day: an artist who sup-
__ pressed her.own ambition to”
further her husband’s career,
‘she was Vladimir Nabokov’s
lifeline to the outside world.’

_ With meticulous detail, :

Schitf matches the artistry of
Nabokov’s fiction to the
couple's real-life adventures,
from their shared love of
butterfly-collecting to an
unsparing account of
Viadimir’s affairs. Ultimately,
she paints a picture of a
muach-criticized woman
whose fate was inextricably
linked to that of her hus-
band. A fascinating portrait
of love and mutual depen-
dence.

9490 —-
B City of Glass: Douglas
Coupland’s Vancouver, by
Douglas Coupland

. Dougias and Macintyre,

$24. 35)
West Vancouver author ;

_ Douglas Coupland is

renowned around the globe

~ as the father of Generation X -
~ and the voice of disenfran-
‘chised.idealists — but he -:

always comes back to

Vancouver for inspiration.

book, packed with illustra-
tive photos, Coupland cap-
tures the unique spirit of the

Friday, December 8, 2000 - Nerth Shore News - 27 .

year 2

city, from Kitsilano hippies _
to night skiing on Grouse,
Dim Sum Sundays to real :
estate obsession.

_ Katharine Hamer

In this slim but pithy -

a stmagine” :
all the choices... Wonderful .

. boys & ‘big kids’, too”

bog Harry Potter Books % Fantasy and Fun for all ages: 7
Great Dress Up 3% Arte & Crafts * Unicoms ‘
3% Whimsical figurines and décor items 3 Toys & Games |
Call about our Christmas Craft Workshops — a
Supervised fun for children, while you go arid do your. =
ec Shopping... What a great idea for everyone!
poise
ne 1065 Marine Drive, North Van. 990-5118
wi a afalty & Wizara Shop & Party } Reams