The Hidden Keys - Andre Alexis

Another Alexis story set in Toronto, this time a lot of in the Queen and Lansdowne area.  It is always interesting to see his portrayals of certain neighbourhoods I know.  Not bad on this one.  And I was very gratified to see the old "Green Dolphin" as a major setting in the book.
Main character is interesting.  Storyline is a bit contrived, but holds together.  There is just something a bit "stereotyped" somehow in certain aspects of the book.

Main character's friend, Ollie, has a very interesting passage where he explains why we should all worship chance instead of god.  He, in fact, has a very interesting take on life in general - perhaps the most interesting character in the book.

An entertaining enough read, but I found the writing not at the same level as Fifteen Dogs.

The Toronto Book of the Dead - Adam Bunch

An intriguing project exploring some of the quirkier events and famous characters in the history of Toronto.  There is a book, but also a website, and some kind of "postcard" thing.  Some of the events are bizarre, some are tragic.  It is interesting to see who some of the older streets in Toronto are named after.  The political opinions of some of our early important figures are also interesting ie. highly anti-democratic, anti-populist.  You also get a bit of sense of how wild so much of the land was around Toronto in that early period.  Similar to another book recounting the history of the Carrying Place route.
An entertaining read.