Praise for Susan Swan

“Susan Swan creates myth to lend a story to the problems of our time, a time which has lost touch with its own stories and mythical vocabularies. Swan uses classical modes of story-telling but distorts these modes in order to fit the voice of her time. Her work is a subversion of both the historical and documentary voice which she believes operates under the pretense of being factual and only reflects what we want to see. In subverting these voices, she forces us to look at another reality, a deeper reality which is rooted in something archetypical. Her interest in freaks, in the gothic, in the apocalyptic, are all ways of lending a narration to contemporary myths.”

– Alberto Manguel, critic and author of The History of Reading

Fiction by Swan has been published in 20 countries, nominated in Canada and abroad for numerous prestigious literary awards, been optioned as well as made into a feature film premiering at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals.

Praise for What Casanova Told Me

Swan’s latest novel, What Casanova Told Me, has enjoyed rave reviews: a finalist for
 the 2004 Canada Caribbean Commonwealth Regional Prize; picked as one
 of The Globe and Mail’s top books of 2004; selected as one of
 the top ten books of the year by Canada’s Sun-Times, the Calgary Herald and 
Toronto’s NOW magazine; and the December edition of Macleans (Canada’s
 national magazine) named the novel’s protagonist Asked For Adams one
 of the five best fictional characters for 2004.

In its inventive range, its playful engagement and tantalizing mystery, What Casanova Told Me is breathtaking, a tour de force that detonates echoes of the past within the present. Utterly seductive. The lesson learned here is simple: Leave home, fall in love and believe in the accidents of pleasure and freedom.”

— Globe & Mail, September 18, 2004

“Rich in interesting digressions into subjects as diverse as Minoan goddess worship and Western Orientalist stereotypes. Swan …has much to say about the emotional risks required to live a fulfilled life.”

—The Washington Post

“One of Swan’s best.”

— NOW Toronto

“A fictional character takes up with the legendary and complex lover.The ramifications span two centuries.”

— George Fetherling, Vancouver Sun, January 8, 2005

“A very tall 18th-century Yankee with an unfortunate relationship with her body (which she refers to as My Poor Friend) is the awkward but utterly charming core of Susan Swan’s parallel-track historical novel What Casanova Told Me.
”

— Brian Bethune, Macleans Year in review: literature, December, 2004

“Elegantly sensual … Swan has created an exotic romance, a rollicking adventure, a work of prose that could almost be poetry…. This magnificently sad and funny and exciting trip is, indeed, one you’d be very sad you missed.”

— Calgary Herald

“Swan explores travel, home, love, sex, culture and communication in this splendid book. You will probably want to read it more than once, for the suspense of the story and the beauty of the language.”

— Vancouver Sun

“By the end of the novel, we are in a position to take to heart Casanova’s – and Swan’s – insights into travel, and the treasures it has in store for those with the openness to otherness it demands. Casanova is Swan’s The Volcano Lover.”

— Centre for Feminist Research, York University

“York humanities Professor Susan Swan’s new book celebrates the unexpected in life and travel as a form of love…”

— York University’s Y File.

“This bawdy, fun, intelligent novel combines the feel of a trashy historical romance with the sophistication of novels such as The Hours and Possession…. What Casanova Told Me is a natural for its own feature film.”

— Flare, September 2004

“Part travelogue, part bodice-ripper, there is something both titillating and fantastical about this type of historical fiction, and Swan is adept at spinning facts into vividly imagined scenes and characters.”

— Quill & Quire

“Alluring. The stories (of the two protagonists) weave together well, and Asked For, in particular, has a bright, engaging voice.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Swan writes with thoughtful, inviting prose that promises intrigue for all fiction readers, and she fills the story with the historical and cultural details that will surely give fans of historical fiction the experience they desire.”

—Booklist

“This is an elegant, thoughtful, and classy novel: complex, leisurely, and wonderfully romantic.” Read the entire review.

—Grumpy Old Bookman (a top ten literary blog)

Visit the What Casanova Told Me page.