Old Flames - Softcover

Kim Moritsugu was born in Toronto, where she now lives with her husband and two sons. She holds BA and MBA degrees from the University of Toronto, and worked for several years in a corporate setting before turning to the writing of fiction. She has taken hundreds of dance classes in her lifetime, and sometimes teaches hip-hop dance to children. She has written for CBC Radio, the Toronto Star, The Globe & Mail, and other publications.

Moritsugu's first novel, Looks Perfect (Goose Lane Editions, 1996), was shortlisted for the City of Toronto Book Award. Books in Canada called it `highly entertaining -- a romantic comedy with an edge' and the Toronto Star found its lead character `one of the most appealing heroines in current Canadian fiction'. Since then she has written three more novels. Kim Moritsugu lives in Toronto and, besides her own writing, also teaches creative writing at the Humber School for Writers.

`Moritsugu ... is the Tom Wolfe of mid-town Toronto. With spot-on accuracy she captures the mores and motions of life in a middle class neighbourhood, creating a sharply comic yet affectionate picture.'

`Old Flames may not have a unique plot, but in Moritsugu's hands, it sings. Her signature writing style is light, fluid and seemingly effortless. Like her debut novel, Looks Perfect, Old Flames initially seems a little frivolous, yet it has wisdom. Moritsugu helps us face our own foibles by gently mocking them, like those internal arguments when we recognize we're about to do something foolish, but experience and wisdom don't necessarily stop us.'

Old Flames followed me everywhere when I was reading it. It's a light, funny look at two women and their love life regrets -- but don't let the fast pace fool you; there is depth here. This book lingers. It's set in North Toronto, and though I was reading in Vancouver -- I even took it on the boat because I couldn't put it down -- I felt like I was living inside, chilling with the characters. When I finished reading, I turned sadly to my husband in bed and said, ``The book's over''.