See, Hear, Read: three local experts tell us what books, movies and music they’re craving this month

They love it. We want it. Three red-hot releases

“Documentaries often present their subjects in a cold, clinical light. Marwencol, about a man who suffers brain damage after being assaulted, isn’t like that at all. During his recovery, the man builds a fantasy world in his backyard that is populated by tiny soldiers. He puts people he knows in the diorama—himself, his wife—and constructs a narrative for every little piece. It’s a bizarre and beautiful film; by the end, my jaw hurt from smiling.”
—DANIEL HANNA
Owner of Eyesore Cinema

Marwencol, directed by Jeff Malmberg (April 12)

---

“I listen to classical music eight hours a day, and I would recommend this choral piece by the baroque composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi to anyone. His Stabat Mater, a sacred hymn dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is one of his best-known and most intimate works. Italian contralto Marianna Pizzolato and Russian soprano Anna Netrebko sing together for the first time on this album, and their voices really blend nicely. Netrebko is a modern-day Maria Callas: gorgeous, a great actor and an incredible voice.”
—VICTOR GHALOOSIAN
Co-owner of L’Atelier Grigorian

Stabat Mater: A Tribute to Pergolesi, by Anna Netrebko and Marianna Pizzolato (March 29)

---

“Up Up Up is a very Toronto book. The short stories in it could be about your next-door neighbours: they travel from Corso Italia to cottage country, for an urban-meets-great-outdoors feel that a lot of us can identify with. Julie Booker is an up-and-coming writer; her stuff has appeared in several anthologies, but this is her first solo collection. She touches on some difficult subjects, like abuse and the navigation of relationships, but the overall mood is humorous and fun.”
—VICTORIA MORENO
Owner of the Toronto Women’s Bookstore

Up Up Up, by Julie Booker (April 15)

Illustrations by Joe McKendry; Photographs: top courtesy of the Cinema Guild; Middle courtesy of Universal Music Canada; Bottom courtesy of the House of Anansi Press