We like consuming words on the page almost as much as we like consuming food on the plate. Welcome to the Scout Book Club: a brief and regular rundown of what we’re reading, and what we recommend.

The ten books in this Scout Book Club edition oscillate between intense emotions, hitting on a nuanced spectrum of feelings specific to current times: from funny-not-funny, to obsessive and depressive…

All Kidding Aside (QC Fiction), by Jean-Christophe Réhel | The newly English-translated novel (by fellow Montreal author, Neil Smith) from Montreal writer Jean-Christophe Rehel, All Kidding Aside, follows Louis, a queer young wannabe comedian suffering from low self-esteem after a recent break-up, struggling to get by working at a Tim Horton’s, all while sharing an apartment in the Easternmost neighbourhood of Montreal with his dying, Tinder-obsessed father and video game- and rap-loving schizophrenic brother, Guillaume. Louis’ work and romantic aspirations are completely sidelined when his father suddenly dies and he becomes the sole caregiver to his older sibling, who goes completely off-the-rails. Frantic and sarcastic, darkly humorous, distinctly Quebecois, and deeply sympathetic, All Kidding Aside is an unusual, high-tension and gripping story of family and mental illness that will whip your emotions in a frenzy. As an added bonus, this book also acts as a primer to local Montreal history and Quebec’s various colourful cursing expressions. DETAILS

Available as a special order from such local independent bookstores as Massy Books, Iron Dog Books, and Upstart & Crow.*

You Crushed It: A Novel (Book*hug Press), by Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard | The set-up for Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard’s compellingly disastrous 2024 novel, newly translated into English by fellow Montreal author, Neil Smith (yup, another one!), is this: An aspiring comedian, Raph Massi, and a talent agency assistant with supposed psychic abilities, Laurie Blais, hit it off at a post-show house party. From thereon out ensues 250+ pages of the latter preeminently narrating the rise and demise of the pair’s as of yet unconsummated love story – stress on the demise. A dark and discomfiting story about friendship and betrayal, ego and success, competition and karma, drug and alcohol addiction, teenage trauma and sexual harassment; and how an innocent crush can go from a flourishing, fulfilling and life-affirming relationship to a soul-crushing life experience that taints every ensuing action and decision. You Crushed It contains much of the personal strain, debauchery and character unlikeability factor typical to a Virginie Despentes novel, but in role-reversal (Despentes’ most famous recurring narrator, Vernon Subutext, is a man) and with a Quebecois ‘twang’. Reading it is, appropriately, kind of like being an audience member at a comedy gig gone awry, watching someone self-deprecate and degenerate for laughs on-stage – an enjoying every insufferable minute of it. DETAILS

Available from such local independent booksellers as Massy Books, Iron Dog Books (special order only), and Upstart & Crow.*

Mood Swings (McClelland & Stewart), by Frankie Barnet | Montreal author Frankie Barnet’s 2024 novel focuses on best friends Jenlena and Daphne, two young Anglophone pseudo-poets living in the Mile End neighbourhood. Jenlena’s most defining characteristic is a pervading and highly-cultivated ennui; whereas Daphne thrives on the drama of being a pariah-by-association through her relationship with a cancelled musician. Add to that, an all-out animal extinction at the hands of a single, self-prescribed hero (billionaire Roderick “Ricky” Maeve), along with the undeniable heightening of climate change, which sets Mood Swings into full-swing. Subsequently, and according to the media sources which Jenlena and Daphne religiously consume, the salvation of humanity hinges on one of two opposing yet equally absurd things: the rise of a new cult called the Moon Bethlehems, or Maeve’s time machine scheme. In the meantime, Daphne dumps her boyfriend for her boss and descends into a depressive state; and Jenlena quits trying to capitalize on prevalent post-animal loneliness through stints of animal roleplaying and plant-selling to be Maeve’s secret girlfriend. It all boils down to the question: what would you do if the end of the world was imminent? Protest and rebel? Let yourself be deluded into thinking that one far-fetched, half-baked plan by a single, privileged and insecure man could reverse all of man’s transgressions? Absolutely nada? Snarky, cynical, clever, and hilarious, with Mood Swings Barnet may have eked out her own brand of slacker apocalyptic fiction by tapping into the zeitgeist of the current cultural landscape, as experienced by twenty-somethings, and ultra-processing it. DETAILS

Available from such local independent bookstores as Massy Books, Iron Dog Books (special order only), and Upstart & Crow (special order only).*

The Rage Letters (Metonymy Press), by Valérie Bah | Bilingual Montreal filmmaker and massage therapist Valerie Bah’s first book, The Rage Letters (originally published in French as Les Enragé.e.s in 2021, and translated into English by Kama La Mackerel in 2023), is a collection of 13 intersecting stories following four central characters – Daphne, Marie, Frederique (“Fred”), and Katia – with very different temperaments and trajectories, but whose lives gel together in a beautiful mess, nonetheless. Although each story (or series of stories, in the case of “Fille du roi I”, “…II”, and “…III”) stands on its own, collaged together like this they produce a kaleidoscopic microcosm of human civilization. Standout stories include: “Sculptures”, about the early turbulent, tense, self-conscious and jealousy-ridden stages of a relationship between aspiring sculptor her comparatively unworldly lover; “Marie Luisa”, about the unusual pseudo-vacation of a woman desperate to flee her life after being fired from her job and receiving a terrifying health diagnosis; and closer “Flanage”, which brings all of the aforementioned protagonists together, chafing and melding over the course of a brief rural getaway. As is implied by its title, The Rage Letters contains no shortage of instances of quiet and violent rebellion; however, it’s also full of queer love, friendship, revelry, and mysticism. Bottom line: read this if a subversive piece of queer punk literature inflected with a distinctly Québécois accent, from a confident and conscientious voice, also gets you going. DETAILS

Available from such local independent bookstores as Massy Books, Iron Dog Books (special order only), and Upstart & Crow (special order only).*

Happiness Forever (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), by Adelaide Faith | Socially awkward, Pierrot-loving and sweets-addicted veterinary nurse, Sylvie, doesn’t know how to “adult”, and has a history of avoiding doing just that by entering into obsessive relationships where she can completely cede control, turning to alcohol to help her navigate her anxiety. Ironically, all that leads into her latest obsessive attachment – with her therapist. This is the conflict at the centre of Happiness Forever, the debut novel by English author Adelaide Faith. Sylvie’s entire existence seems to be kept intact by her pseudo-relationship with the woman hired to help her by being a neutral source of support, and their once-weekly 50-minute-long therapy sessions – until suddenly it is no longer an option, due to the therapist’s impending retirement. Happiness Forever is an oddball of a book in the best way possible; sprinkled with awkward, unfiltered, unexpected, endearing, and cringe-inducing moments that make you pause and go, “How the hell did Faith come up with that?” (As well as myriad moments of delightful food analogies that I couldn’t help but underline; including a face that “looks soft and dry like birthday cake”, a carpet that “goes on like crushed biscuit”, the even the opening line, “The room feels like the base of a cheesecake.”) It’s no wonder that Sheila Heti is a champion of Happiness Forever. This is the kind of book that doesn’t shy away from humanity, honing in on extraordinarily mundane details, bizarre moments and general quirks of being a human being; of feeling so much and having to carry on living, making do with what you have, discovering and forging ways of living that don’t fit into the mould of what we’re told are acceptable, ‘successful’ models – and owning up to it; hell, even enjoying it. DETAILS

Available from such local independent bookstores as Massy Books (special order only), Iron Dog Books, and Upstart & Crow (special order only).*

I Make My Own Fun (House of Anansi Press), by Hannah Beer | The debut novel by UK writer Hannah Beer is a reverse-tale of celebrity obsession, where the celebrity – a pushing-thirty British-born actress named Marina – becomes the stalker of a young pink-haired bartender and childcare worker named Anna, whom Marina meets while promoting her new film in London. It’s not long before Marina spirals out of control, concocting elaborate displays of affection for her crush, imagining codified messages sent through social media posts, using her fame and money to get away with murder guilt-free, and just using people (friends, employees and strangers alike) in general, all in order to advance her relationship with Anna. The narrative alternates between Marina’s delusional perspective, alongside newspaper and tabloid stories directly or indirectly involving her and/or her actions, and online chatroom threads devoted to Marina fandom and speculations. When all is said and done, besides its (questionable) queer bent, I Make My Own Fun plays out basically exactly as you would expect: in bloodshed, and without any remorse from or repercussions for the rich and famous actress at its centre. In short, what we have here whittles down to a competent piece of celebrity-cosplay writing from a self-described reformed fangirl. Personally, I am not a big fan. DETAILS

Available as a special order from such local independent bookstores as Massy Books, Iron Dog Books, and Upstart & Crow.*

Batshit Seven (Penguin Random House Canada), by Sheung-King | The year is 2019, and after relocating to his home in Hong Kong after a stint studying abroad in Toronto, twenty-six-year-old Glen Wu (aka “Glue”) is at a stalemate with life. To ‘progress’ is to feed into a capitalist-colonialist system that he is all-too-aware of and morally opposed to – to such an extent that, whenever he attempts to suck it up and hold down a job, it seems to elicit an adverse physical reaction, and his digestive and sexual functions cease to function as usual. However, the alternative of writing prose and poetry, and indulging his artistic/creative side in general, doesn’t come naturally, either, and Glue falls into a pattern of depression, drinking, smoking weed, getting into fights with his childhood best-friend-slash-dealer, having random encounters with a young woman who may or may not be who she claims to be, and compulsively watching porn, YouTube videos, Instagram reels and HK-made media. Feisty and zeitgeist-y, Batshit Seven is a propulsive and herky-jerky read from a singular local literary voice. DETAILS

Available from such local independent bookstores as Massy Books, Iron Dog Books (special order only), and Upstart & Crow (special order only).*

If Only (Verso Books), by Vigdis Hjorth | Warning: the toxicity level of If Only – the most recent work by respected Norwegian author, Vigdis Hjorth (translated into English for Verso by Charlotte Barslund) – is extremely high. By choosing to embark on this particular literary journey, you are wilfully being sucked into the destructive and delusional vortex of Ida and Arnold, an aspiring young Norwegian playwright and accomplished scholar/professor/translator. An emotionally and psychically taxing “be careful what you wish for” tale, the story of the pair’s relationship is told retrospectively by Ida, twenty or so years after its conclusion, in a style that is at once breathless, uninhibited and wistful. A disaster from their first chance encounter, after which Ida (who is already married with two young children) becomes heedlessly obsessed with convincing Arnold to divorce his wife (with whom he has a son) to be with her, and is met with resistance, distance and mixed messages. When finally – and shockingly – they are together, a complete dynamic shift ensues, with Arnold using emotional manipulation and physical force to extract every ounce of Ida’s energy and attention. Theirs is a years-long binge – in the traditional sense of the word, since every encounter between Ida and Arnold involves alcohol; but also in so much as the duo are addicted to each other, regardless of the personal and professional ramifications, and experience withdrawal symptoms which makes their separation seem impossible. If Only is certainly not a book for the faint of heart; but it is an astute and engrossing read for anyone interested in breaking down the baffling complexities of human relationships. DETAILS

Available from such local independent booksellers as Massy Books, Iron Dog Books, and Upstart & Crow.*

Old Romantics (Biblioasis), by Maggie Armstrong | Old Romantics is not so much a linear novel as it is a series of standalone stories detailing the significant life milestones and fraught relationships of a singular character named Margaret. Spanning from coming-of-age Margaret’s first sexual encounter, to subsequent instances of desperate, unrequited love, infidelity, a difficult pregnancy, and eventually to her drawn-out and turbulent relationship with the father of her children, Margaret is self-absorbed and stagnant, neurotic, obsessive and masochistic, desirous and addicted to drama and conflict, and in a perpetual state of stasis and approval-seeking. Whenever there is a flicker of ambition in Margaret – for instance, her brief but inconsequential and under-appreciated stint as a restaurant reviewer for an Irish journal in “Old Romantics” – it is stamped out by whichever ill-suited lover she is with at the time. I’ve never quite encountered a character quite like Margaret, and although spending the length of novel with her can be utterly infuriating, visceral, intense, and emotionally draining (particularly in the “Trouble” and “Trouble Again” sections), Old Romantics is also deeply entertaining, insightful, and thought provoking; as well as being full of dark humour, honesty – and no shortage of sumptuous food descriptions. DETAILS

Available from such local independent booksellers as Massy Books, Iron Dog Books, and Upstart & Crow.*

Self Care (Biblioasis), by Russell Smith | It’s difficult not to consider Self Care – the newest novel from Toronto-based author Russell Smith – as a sort of handing down of judgement on “young people these days” and the decidedly toxic cultural landscape they live in. Smith, who is in his early sixties, clearly cannot relate to his young female narrator, Gloria, nor her peers or adversaries. Gloria is a struggling writer who pays the bills by feeding the click-bait landscape with a regular dose of listicles and self care articles for a popular online publication  – all while attempting to manage her own moods and libido. (Spoiler: the chemicals tasked with helping the former inhibit the latter.) Amid a general surge of depression, violence against women, and suicide, a tense brush with a young man enlisted in a notorious Toronto incel movement gives Gloria the idea to use him as fodder for her work…and on her personal mission to restore pleasure to her sexual experiences – because a little BDSM action with an impressionable, misogynist-leaning young man couldn’t hurt, right? It does, of course, when the power dynamics in the bedroom switch, and the relationship escalates into dangerous territory. Meanwhile, Gloria’s best friend, Isabel, isn’t holding up her end of the bargain by being the upbeat, silly, irresistibly sexy and quirky person she normally is…The drama of it all! While Self Care is a propulsive read full of topical themes including toxic masculinity, power/gender dynamics, and the prevalence self care culture, it’s not entirely convincing as commentary on any single subject, and in the end it (ironically) simply leaves you feeling a little bit grosser than before you picked it up. But maybe that’s the point? DETAILS

Available from such local independent bookstores as Massy Books, Iron Dog Books (special order only), and Upstart & Crow.*

*It would be remiss for me not to mention Vancouver’s various independent and used book stores, and encourage you to pay them an in-person visit to seek out these and other titles.