The top 10 bestselling Canadian books of 2021
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Loading... - Rubin Henderson
- 11 Jan 2022
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You can listen to the countdown special hosted by Ali Hassan below or keep scrolling to see which books made the cut!
10. Indian in the Cabinet by Jody Wilson-Raybould
Based in Vancouver, Jody Wilson-Raybould is the former justice minister for Trudeau's Liberal parliament. She writes about how her optimism to make meaningful political change was eroded by issues of "inclusivity, deficiencies of political will and concerns about adherence to core principles of our democracy." She shared her story in the nonfiction book Indian in the Cabinet.
Based in Vancouver, Wilson-Raybould is the former justice minister for Trudeau's Liberal parliament. Wilson-Raybould resigned from the cabinet after the months-long SNC-Lavalin affair. She is also the author of From Where I Stand.
9. Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi
Butter Honey Pig Bread is a novel about twin sisters Kehinde and Taiye, and their mother, Kambirinachi. Kambirinachi believes she is a spirit who was supposed to die as a small child. By staying alive, she is cursing her family — a fear that appears to come true when Kehinde experiences something that tears the family apart, and divides the twins for years. But when the three women connect years later, they must confront their past and find forgiveness.
Francesca Ekwuyasi is a writer, filmmaker and visual artist. Her writing has appeared in the Malahat Review, Guts and Brittle Paper, and she was longlisted for the 2019 Journey Prize. Butter Honey Pig Bread is her first book. She currently lives in Halifax.
8. Fight Night by Miriam Toews
In Fight Night, nine-year-old Swiv lives in Toronto with her pregnant mother, who is raising Swiv while caring for her own elderly mother. When Swiv is expelled from school, Grandma gives Swiv the task of writing to her absent father about what life is like in the house during her mother's final trimester. In turn, Swiv tells Grandma to write a letter to her unborn grandchild.
Miriam Toews is the Toronto-based author of seven novels, including Women Talking, All My Puny Sorrows, A Complicated Kindness and The Flying Troutmans. Her 2018 novel, Women Talking, was a finalist for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for fiction.
A Complicated Kindness won Canada Reads in 2006, when it was defended by John K. Samson. Toews lives in Toronto. Her other award wins include the Libris Award for Fiction Book of the Year, the Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the Writers' Trust Engel Findley Award.
7. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
​In the dystopian world of Cherie Dimaline's award-winning The Marrow Thieves, climate change has ravaged the Earth and a continent-wide hunt and slaughter of Indigenous people is underway. Wanted for their bone marrow, which contains the lost ability to dream, a group of Indigenous people seek refuge in the old lands.
In 2017, The Marrow Thieves won the Governor General's Literary Award for Young people's literature — text and the Kirkus Prize for young readers' literature. It is currently being adapted for television. The sequel, Hunting by Stars, was released in 2021.
The Marrow Thieves was defended by Jully Black on Canada Reads 2018.
Cherie Dimaline is a Métis author and editor. Her other books include Red Rooms, The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy, A Gentle Habit and Empire of Wild. The Marrow Thieves was named one of Time magazine's top 100 YA novels of all time.
Dimaline won the 2021 Writers' Trust Engel Findley Award. The $25,000 recognizes the accomplishments of a fiction writer in the middle of her career. Read More…
