Books Backstage

The Prince George Public Library and Theatre NorthWest have partnered to connect library patrons and theatre goers with resources on themes addressed within the plays performed during Theatre NorthWest’s 2017/2018 season. In collaboration with Theatre NorthWest’s artistic director, PGPL librarians will provide recommendations of fiction, non-fiction, DVDs and other materials that may enrich the audiences’ experience of the performances. Book lists will be posted at least one month in advance of each play.

Book list to accompany The Best Brothers< /i>, which runs April 12 – April 29, 2018

The joy of funerals : a novel in stories by Alix Strauss
Begun as a Lives column in The New York Times Magazine, this book is a riveting look into the disturbing lives of nine young women, each willing to take drastic measures to fill the voids created by longing and loneliness.
The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg
With pitch-perfect prose, huge compassion, and sly humor, Jami Attenberg has given us an epic story of marriage, family, and obsession. The Middlesteins explores the hopes and heartbreaks of new and old love, the yearnings of Midwestern America, and our devastating, fascinating preoccupation with food.
The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
An exceptional new novel of jealously, rivalry and the dangerous power of obsession. Two brothers, Arthur and Jake Dunn, are the sons of a farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. Arthur is reticent, solid, dutiful and set to inherit the farm and his father's character; Jake is younger, attractive, mercurial and dangerous to know -- the family misfit. When a beautiful young woman comes into the community, the fragile balance of sibling rivalry tips over the edge.
Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
Told in captivating glimpses and drawn from a deep well of insight, humor, and unexpected tenderness, Goodbye, Vitamin pilots through the loss, love, and absurdity of finding one's footing in this life.
The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
In this tender, entertaining, and deftly written debut, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney brings a remarkable cast of characters to life to illuminate what money does to relationships, what happens to our ambitions over the course of time, and the fraught yet unbreakable ties we share with those we love.
Four funerals and a wedding : resilience in a time of grief by Jill Smolowe
In Four Funerals and a Wedding , Smolowe jostles preconceptions about caregiving, defies cliche’s about losing loved ones, and reveals a stunning bottom line: far from being uncommon, resilience like hers is the norm among the recently bereaved. With humor and quiet wisdom, and with a lens firmly trained on what helped her tolerate and rebound from so much sorrow, she offers answers to questions we all confront in the face of loss, and reminds us that grief is not only about endings--it's about new beginnings.
Mom still likes you best : the unfinished business between siblings by Jane Isay
Based on scores of interviews with brothers and sisters young and old, Mom Still Likes You Best features real-life stories that show how differences caused by family feuds, marriages, distance, or ancient history can be overcome. The result is a vivid portrait of siblings, in love and war.
The sibling effect : brothers, sisters, and the bonds that define us by Jeffrey Kluger
In this groundbreaking book, renowned science writer Jeffrey Kluger explores the complex world of siblings in a way that is equal parts science, psychology, sociology, and memoir. Based heavily on new and emerging research, The Sibling Effect examines birth order, twin studies, genetic encoding of behavioral traits, emotional disorders and their effects on-and effects from-sibling relationships, and much more.

DVDs:

Current Play:

The Best Brothers

After losing their free-spirited mother in a freak accident involving a large drag queen named Pina Colada, brothers Kyle and Hamilton Best have to find a way to work together to make the final arrangements. Polar opposites, Hamilton and Kyle are hampered by past resentments and the age-old sibling-rivalry question “Who did Mom love best?”

In this 2012 hysterical comedy by famed Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor (whose play How it Works was one of TNW’s best attended shows!) two brothers reunite to gain a better understanding regarding their relationship with her, each other, and the family dog. A play for anyone who has had a mother, brother, or dog!

Check out Theatre NorthWest’s upcoming productions here!