The South Bayview Bulldog

The short list has been published for the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize for works of Canadian fiction. The first place winner will receive a prize of $50,000. Here are the four candidates: Will Ferguson’s novel 419 was praised as a global work that tells us the ways in which we are now bound together and reminds us of the things that will always keep us apart. Alix Ohlin’s novel Inside begins when a woman mistakes a man for a log. It was described by the jury as a novel about people “that jumps between decades, locations and characters with a precision that makes Ohlin’s hard work seem effortless. The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler revolves around the mystery of Lily Azerov. The novel “shifts through Lily’s past and her daughter, Ruth’s present, interwoven with the perceptions of her whole extended family, as they adjust to the comforts of Montreal” after the horrors of the Holocaust. Kim Thúy’s novel Ru, translated by Sheila Fischman, is the story of a journey from Viet Nam to Quebec. The jury said “Thúy is a born storyteller, but she rewrites the traditional immigrant narrative in a completely new way.” Whirl Away, a short story collection by Newfoundland author and journalist Russell Wangersky, was praised as a collection in which “each story stands starkly and wonderfully alone. The jurors were Irish author and screenwriter Roddy Doyle; Canadian publisher, writer, and essayist Anna Porter; and American author and satirist Gary Shteyngart. The prize was founded by Jack Rabinovitch in 1994 in memory of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller. The winner will be announced at a gala on October 30.

The pictures now released of the  proposed  80-storey condominium  buildings “as sculpture” are surely breathtaking. They are so unusual they set the nerves a jangle. That goes for the idea of knocking down the Princess of Wales Theatre as well.  Even the prime movers to all this, David Mirvish and architect Frank Gehry, are all over the place as to what we should make of it. Gehry was saying his models are works in progress. You get clobbered for this kind of architecture in the early stages, he mused. Mirvish and Gehry were apparently struggling to stress their Toronto roots, according to the CBC.  That was supposed to make it go down easier, we suppose. There will apparently be an art gallery and a great school in the structures (the Ontario College of Art and Design). “These towers can become a symbol of what Toronto can be,” Mirvish said. “I am not building condominiums. I am building three sculptures for people to live in.” We shall see. CBC.ca

Video

If you are feeling flush in the coming months and need a new car, there is always the 2013 Land Rover. Here is a little preview video from the Paris Auto Show, which opened this week. The new Land Rover has lost 700 pounds as a result of a new aluminum frame. The Paris Show is over-shadowed by gloom about the European economy. Sales are down. Will it be reflected in Canadian prices? Not likely. 

The Annual Pumpkin Giveaway/Haunted House this weekend will have a different touch — pink pumpkins. They can be purchased for $10 and all proceeds go to breast cancer research. A pink pumpkin on the porch will show support for the cause. There are apparently a limited number available — between 100 and 150. The Pumpkin Giveaway goes off  Friday to Sunday, October 19-21, 2012 at Tremblett’s Valu Mart.  It’s a promotion of real estate broker Patrick Rocca and you need a copy of his real estate letter to get a free (orange) pumpkin. You can call him to get one  at (416) 322-8000. This year the giveaway has a haunted house on Sunday, October 21 between noon and 3 pm.