Dennis Bock has been hailed by
The Globe and Mail as “Canada’s next great novelist.” His books have been shortlisted for the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award, the
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize, and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Regional Best Book). His collection of stories won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, the Canadian Authors’ Association Jubilee Award, and the Betty Trask Award in the UK.
The Ash Garden won the 2002 Canada-Japan Literary Award and has been published in translation in Spain, Argentina, Japan, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France, and Greece.
Bock's new novel is
Going Home Again.
A couple of weeks ago I asked the author about what he was reading. Bock's reply:
One of the pleasures of living in a city like Toronto is meeting someone, quite by chance, who’s written a good novel or two. 
This happened to me not long ago, and so what I did was pick up a copy of Louisa McCormack’s second novel, The Catch, narrated by a perfectly drawn 40 year old TV producer who takes time out from the big city and heads back east to deal with some family business. McCormack’s first-person voice is a high-wire performance, superb dialogue and detail. You can tell this writer really gets off on language, really understands it as a tool, as a play-thing, and a means of getting closer to a character’s thinking. Her focus on the interior landscapes of the heart, and the sea and landscapes of Prince Edward Island, is truly wonderful.
The last non-Toronto writer I read was probably Paul Auster. I don’t know where that cat lives but he sure can write. I plowed through The Book of Illusions like it was the story of my own life and I just had to power to the end to see if I got out alive. I read manuscripts all day long, though—writing students who’re cobbling together books of their own. It’s always a great ride, stepping into so many books all at the same time.
Learn more about the book and author at
Dennis Bock's website.
The Page 69 Test: Going Home Again.
--Marshal Zeringue
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize, and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Regional Best Book). His collection of stories won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, the Canadian Authors’ Association Jubilee Award, and the Betty Trask Award in the UK. The Ash Garden won the 2002 Canada-Japan Literary Award and has been published in translation in Spain, Argentina, Japan, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France, and Greece.
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