As the IFOA eases into its closing weekend, Torontoist correspondents look back at the night that was. Erin Balser cozied up in the Studio Theatre to hear five excellent readings from five very different authors. Edinburgh’s Poet Laureate Ron Butlin opened the evening with a delightful short story from his collection No More Angels that retells Exodus from the perspective of Moses’ younger brother, who, truth be told, is never mentioned in the Bible. “My book is the only chance you get to read about him,” Butlin joked. After the poem “Recipe for Whiskey,” Butlin concluded with an excerpt from his unfinished novel about 1940s Canada, tentatively titled The Invisible Woman. Giles Foden then read from Turbulence, a novel inspired by a Quaker weather scientist who refused to let the government use his research for military purposes during the Second World War. The Last King of Scotland author captivated the audience with his original and creative selection. Tessa McWatt followed with an excerpt from her latest, Step Closer, while the evening’s fourth author, Eric Laurrent, read the original French text of his English-language debut, Do Not Touch, with actor Brad Hampton reading the English translation. The reading was as beautiful in English as it was in French and translator Jeanine Herman deserves high praise. Michael Turner ended the strong night, reading from his esoteric novel 8×10, a work lacking in traditional narrative structure and proper nouns. Turner’s carefully selected excerpts made the complex book accessible and entertaining.
Hamutal Dotan was disappointed that so few of our dear Torontoist readers headed our recommendation and to hear the fabulous Colm Tóibín read at the Fleck Dance Theatre. The last of four readers, all of whom acquitted themselves nobly, Tóibín took the evening over the top. His prose is as good as any you’ll likely hear: a delicious, brilliant melding of keen-eyed description and empathy for his characters. Tóibín seemed charmingly nervous when he reached the podium, skipping the standard reminiscence about the last time he was in Toronto and plunging straight into setting up the scene he then read from his latest novel, Brooklyn. Tóibín evoked the plaintive life of an immigrant girl working in a department store with a deftness reminiscent of Zola. He relaxed as the evening wore on, pausing to tell some stories between chapters and leaving the crowd utterly in his spell.
