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Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Considered a foundational literary exploration of gender, Woolf’s Orlando follows the story of a young man of the same name in sixteenth century England who has a love affair with Queen Elizabeth. After his affair is through, Orlando wakes up in a woman’s body and navigates life as the same person but with the opposite gender.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Like Kathleen Winter’s Annabel, Middlesex tells the story of a child born intersex. The book is based on the diaries of a real intersex child born in nineteenth century France. Eugenides chronicles the intersex experience over three generations of a family, following the mutation of a gene. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2003.

February by Lisa Moore

Last year’s Canada Reads winner is a harrowing yet beautiful story out of Newfoundland. February concerns Helen O'Mara, a woman shattered by the death of her husband, Cal, who was one of the crew members on the Ocean Ranger oil rig when it sank in 1982.

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston

A foundational but entertaining book about Newfoundland history, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams tells the story of Joey Smallwood, the first premier of the province. Smallwood was born on the wrong side of the tracks, a region referred to as the “colony” but transcended his upbringing to rise to power. The book was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giiller Prize in 2008.

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

If you’re craving more stories out of Newfoundland and Labrador, The Shipping News tells the story of an American newspaper worker who relocates back to his ancestral home in Newfoundland after his family life collapses. The novel won both the Pulitzer Prize and the U.S. National Book Award in 1994.

by Erin Balser

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