2016 Arts & Science Book Club: The Illegal by Lawrence Hill

The 2016–2017 College of Arts & Science Book Club selection is The Illegal, the latest novel by award-winning author Lawrence Hill.

Winner of CBC’s Canada Reads 2016 competition, The Illegal is the powerful tale of a runner on the run for his life in one of the world’s poorest nations. Set in the near future, the novel tackles the complex social, economic and political issues making front-page news today—including economic disparity, racial discrimination, illegal immigration, the refugee crisis and political oppression—without letting go of its fast-paced plot or the humanity of its characters. The Globe and Mail calls the book “unputdownable.”

Lawrence Hill will visit campus on Monday, November 21 to participate in a series of events. We encourage faculty and student groups to incorporate The Illegal into their courses and activities for the upcoming term. Each year, a book is chosen to inspire discussion in disciplines throughout the college. 

Lawrence Hill is an internationally bestselling author of 10 books of fiction and non-fiction. His third novel, The Book of Negroes, received numerous awards including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and CBC Radio’s Canada Reads. It was adapted into a television miniseries that aired in both Canada and the U.S. Another series is in the works for The Illegal. Hill presented the 2013 CBC Massey Lectures on the social and scientific history of blood, based on his book Blood: The Stuff of Life. He is a professor of creative writing at the University of Guelph.

The College of Arts & Science Book Club is an annual event. For more information, visit the website.

View the book trailer

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