Borrowed Memories, a novel

A 4-minute reading from Borrowed Memories at a Zoom event organized by Guernica Editions for the finalists of the 2020 Guernica Prize for Literary Fiction.

A 4-minute reading from the Lawn Chair Soirée Publications Party, June 20, 2024

“Horace takes a driving lesson”

Why I wrote this book, June 9, 2024

A 25-minute interview on CKCU-FM Special Blend with Susan Johnston (1:06-1:30) about Borrowed Memories, June 28, 2024

A 90-second reading from the launch of Borrowed Memories, Destiil Books, Montréal, June 6, 2024

“An email from Mia to Ivan”

A 2-minute reading from the launch of Borrowed Memories, Destiil Books, Montréal, June 6, 2024

“Ivan arrives at the cottage”

A 90-second reading from Borrowed Memories for The Little Boathouse Readings, June 5, 2024

“Ivan watches his parents prepare dinner”

Power Q & A with River Street Writing, May 3, 2023

Interview with Global News to mark World Alzheimer’s Day, 2024

Excerpt, June 9, 2024

Review by James M. Fisher,

The Seaboard Review,

May 29, 2024

Interviews & Excerpts

A 54-minute interview on “grief, white suburbs and rejection letters” with Nantali Indongo on CBC’s The Bridge, December 7, 2024.

A 30-minute interview on CIUT.FM Howl with Hollay Ghadery, August 6, 2024, 0:00-30:00

“An evocative and nuanced story. Ivan’s ambivalence and longing, caught between his parents and Mia, past and future, make for a fascinating internal journey.”

Jury, 2020 Guernica Prize (Finalist)

“A beautiful, heart-wrenching story of family and love and learning when to hold on, and when to let go. Recommend.”

Hollay Ghadery, River Street Writing, author of Fuse, on Lucy E.M. Black Some Thoughts blog, July 2024

“A subtle and stirring story.”

Montreal’s Book Club, July 31, 2024

Readings

“Through Ivan’s experiences with his parents, his memories and the relationship with Mia, Borrowed Memories makes you ponder about love, family, and, of course, memories. 4/5.”

Rosh Reeds Bookstagram, July 16, 2024

“Captivating, powerful and touching.”

Sonia Saikaley, New York Journal of Books

July 8, 2024

“The fact that Mr. Foss was able to convey such feeling and emotion in so few words demonstrates great writing skill. I was really moved by this book.”

Anna, Left on the Shelf Book Blog, July 24, 2024

Ivan Pyefinch, a freelance translator, is the self-appointed custodian of family memory. He moves home to the Thousand Islands for the summer to care for his ageing parents and escape the sting of his failed marriage. His father Horace, a former World War II pilot, is fighting now to regain his driver’s licence, while his mother Aida wages a losing battle against Alzheimer’s. They are living on borrowed time, and Ivan is there to lend them some more.

Enter Mia Hakim, a Jewish filmmaker in Quebec who has always preferred the memories of others, even as she dreams of her Sephardic roots. She plans a research trip to Tunisia in search of her lost childhood and enlists Ivan to translate her scenario. When Mia arrives unannounced at the Pyefinch home on the eve of the Remembrance Day parade, a health crisis in the family puts all their stories on a collision course.