In this sparkling collection of nineteen stories, the bestselling author of Slammerkin returns to contemporary affairs, exposing the private dilemmas that result from some of our most public controversies. A man finds God and finally wants to father a child-only his wife is now forty-two years old. A coach's son discovers his sexuality on the football field. A roommate's bizarre secret liberates a repressed young woman. From the unforeseen consequences of a polite social lie to the turmoil caused by the hair on a woman's chin, Donoghue dramatizes the seemingly small acts upon which our lives often turn. Many of these stories involve animals and what they mean to us, or babies and whether to have them; some replay biblical plots in modern contexts. With characters old, young, straight, gay, and simply confused, Donoghue dazzles with her range and her ability to touch lightly but delve deeply into the human condition.
Short stories
- Author:Donoghue, EmmaSummary:
- Author:Donoghue, EmmaSummary:
A man finds God and finally wants to father a child-- only his wife is now forty-three years old. A coach's son discovers his sexuality on the football field. A roommate's bizarre secret liberates a repressed young woman. From the unforeseen consequences of a polite social lie to the turmoil caused by a single hair on a woman's chin, Donoghue dramatizes the seemingly small acts upon which our lives often turn. Many of these stories involve animals and what they mean to us, or babies and whether to have them; some replay Biblical plots in modern contexts. With characters old, young, straight, gay and simply confused, Donoghue dazzles with her range and her ability to touch lightly but delve deeply into the human condition.
- Author:Appleton, VictorSummary:
Tom and his father are arguing about Tom's latest idea, a photo telephone. Mr. Swift is adamant that the idea will not work, but Tom has some ideas in mind, and refuses to back down. Tom read about a recent news event where a photograph was transmitted over telegraph lines, and there is no functional difference between the wires used for a telephone to those used in telegraphs. In the meantime, some shady occurrences are happening in the neighborhood. Tom and Ned are almost run over by a speeding motor boat, operated by a con-artist known as Shallock Peters. The feud between Mr. Peters and Tom begins when Mr. Peters refuses to acknowledge the accident. The animosity between the two only grows deeper as Mr. Peters tries to buy Tom out of some of his inventions, under the guise of making a profit. Tom refuses to allow anyone other than himself permissions to his patents, and this infuriates Mr. Peters. Later, Tom learns that his good friend, Mr. Damon, is having serious financial troubles. As the plot gets thicker and thicker, one of Tom's airships is stolen, and then Mr. Damon unexpectedly disappears. All this while Tom is desperately trying to get his latest invention working.
- Author:Malla, PashaSummary:
A new short story by award-winning author Pasha Malla. Set during the summer in a small town on the edge of the Arctic Circle, To Sweep the Light is a love story about solitude and companionship, proximity and distance, and the quest for intimacy between a boy and a girl.
- Author:Nix, GarthSummary:
A short story collection from bestselling fantasy author Garth Nix, including an Old Kingdom novella, a short story set in the same world as Shade's Children, and another story set in the world of A Confusion of Princes.
- Author:Archer, JeffreySummary:
Offers fourteen stories of intrigue and surprising twists, many of which are based on incidents recounted to the author in his travels throughout the world.
- Author:Sharp, Anthea, Tweedie, Jim, Anderson, Pam, Eisner, Keith, Macvie, Meagan, Williams, Caelyn, Anderson, Beth, Koerber, Laura, Marcus, Edward, Staples, Suzanne, De Danaan, Llyn, Hambruch, Eve, Weaver, Jessie, Yunker, Barbara, O'Hara, Kim K., Wanless, KathrynSummary:
Timberland Writes Together explores each writer’s take on optimism and serves as a catalyst for community conversations; myriad and far ranging.Supported by its Foundation, Timberland Regional Library invited writers and artists within the library district to submit work for consideration. Nearly two hundred writers and artists rose to the Library’s challenge: Submit a story or work of art that conveys a sense of optimism - any genre, any time period. Timberland Writes Together includes fifteen southwest Washington writers and one artist: Anthea Sharp, Jim Tweedie, Pam Anderson, Keith Eisner, Meagan Macvie, Caelyn Williams, Beth Anderson, Laura Koerber, Edward Marcus, Suzanne Staples, Llyn De Danaan, Eve Hambruch, Jessie Weaver, Barbara Yunker, Kim K. O’Hara and Kathryn Wanless.
- Author:Christy, JimSummary:
When jazz musicians of the ’30s and ’40s were gettin’ down, when things were really cookin’ they’d say, Yeah, make it tight like that. It meant things were good, as good as they could get. It’s a good thing in fiction, too. The stories in Jim Christy’s latest collection span time and space, taking us from the depression-era Deep South to the modern-day Vancouver commute. Private eyes. Old drunks. Yuppies, hippies, and everyone in between gets the trademark Christy work-over. He roughs ’em up until they show their mettle. His characters inhabit a world where one wrong move, no matter how small, can set in motion the direst of consequences. Luckily, they don’t let it get in the way of having a fine old time. Compelling, transforming, this collection makes you long for the days when a cup of coffee cost a dime, and dignity wasn’t for sale.
Praise for Tight Like That: “the writing is the rock he builds the rest on, a good fresh prose that...never wastes a word" (Globe and Mail) "truly extraordinary and enduring power" (Vancouver Sun ) "Although most of the stories are set in the very recent past, each shows Christy engaging stylistically with the bygone age of grittier, more mercenary story scribblers. The narrative passages are terse and propulsive, the dialogue as sharp as a smashed bottle, and the witty, hardcooked tone gleefully treads the thin line between throwback and anachronism. It’s not surprising that among Christy’s 20-odd previous books is biographical work on Charles Bukowski." (Quill & Quire)
- Author:Ahdieh, Renée, Carson, Rae, Colbert, Brandy, Cotugno, Katie, Giles, L. R., Gratton, Tessa, Hagen, Bethany, Ireland, Justina, Johnson, Alaya Dawn, Johnston, E. K., Murphy, Julie, Nix, Garth, Roth, Veronica, Tahir, Sabaa, Yovanoff, BrennaSummary:
A collection of sixteen short stories involving love triangles. Includes stories written by Renée Ahdieh, Rae Carson, Brandy Colbert, Katie Cotugno, Lamar Giles, Tessa Gratton, Bethany Hagen, Justina Ireland, Alaya Dawn Johnson, E. K. Johnston, Julie Murphy, Garth Nix, Natalie C. Parker, Veronica Roth, Sabaa Tahir, and Brenna Yovanoff.
- Author:Durban, PamSummary:
In Three Little Love Stories, accomplished storyteller Pam Durban introduces us to a trio of women who have known love, hurt and the oftentimes narrow distance between the two. "Riddle Me This" finds a woman freed from a dangerous marriage still able to recall with wonder and fondness her first encounter with her ex. In "All Hallows Eve," readers meet a couple stripped of costumes to reveal their vulnerable pasts in a moment of sheltering embrace. "Little Bone" asks if a patient, trusting love can stand as a cure for all of the haunting dangers of isolation. In each tale, Durban demonstrates her masterful command of evocative language and short form fiction as she delves into the complexities of the human experience of love. The Three Little Love Stories: "Riddle Me This," "All Hallows Eve" and "Little Bone”were previously published in Shenandoah and are an excerpt from Soon: Stories, Pam Durban's new collection from Story River Books exploring the myriad ways people lose, find and hold on to one another.
- Author:Grey, Andrew, Calmes, Mary, Lane, AmySummary:
For time immemorial, the goddesses of fate have decided which human threads will shine and which will be cut short. But even the fates have off days. Fate Delivers a Prince by Andrew Grey: Finding love shouldn’t be that difficult for a diplomat’s son, except Cheyenne is part of a grand tradition of werewolves, and a werewolf with a skin condition needs more help than most mortals. When Chay meets the prince of his dreams, it takes Clotho’s intervention to keep him from letting go. Jump by Mary Calmes: When two lovers die, their threads of life are collected instead of scattered, as one of them was the brother of a god. Can the fates reunite two lovers whose threads should have twined together for eternity? Or will Cassidy allow Raza’s interest to pass his pale mortal self by? Believed You Were Lucky by Amy Lane: The gods’ meddling isn’t always welcome. It’s given Leif good luck but poor fortune, and Hacon a family curse he’s lived in fear of all his life. But when Leif’s good luck saves Hake’s life, Hake has to reevaluate everything he’s ever believed about luck, life and love.
- Author:Uppal, PriscilaSummary:
This short story is taken from the collection Cover Before Striking. The most common phrase in print is “cover before striking,” a warning to those about to innocently strike a match to be careful not to burn their fingers. Uppal’s characters in Cover Before Striking are all people pushing their lives to new levels of intensity, danger, or passion as they test their limits and those of the world. Implacable and just a little unhinged, the stories of Cover Before Striking each move toward that moment of contact when the sparks begin to fly, when destruction and beauty seem to blur together. With this collection, Priscila Uppal offers the literary equivalent of playing with fire. “Three Days Left” was originally published in The Fiddlehead and was nominated for the Journey Prize.
- Author:Wangersky, RussellSummary:
A new short story from 2012 Scotiabank-Giller Prize finalist Russell Wangersky. In his first published short story since his critically acclaimed collection, Whirl Away, Russell Wangersky returns with a story about a lonely, ill old man, who is living alone in his house. Sick in bed for three days, Arthur Simmons ponders life, living and the sometimes difficult relationships he has with family members. The last of his generation, Simmons is both stubborn and desperate -- a quietly explosive mix. Russell Wangersky is critically acclaimed writer whose most recent short story collection, Whirl Away, was a finalist for the Scotiabank-Giller Prize. He has also won the British Columbia National Award for Non-Fiction (Burning Down the House: Fighting Fires and Losing Myself)), the BMO Winterset Award (The Glass Harmonica) and has been nominated for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize (The Hour of Bad Decisions). He is a newspaper editor and columnist based in St. John's, Newfoundland.
- Author:Friedman, Bruce JaySummary:
In the Foreword to his The Collected Short Fiction Bruce Jay Friedman wrote: "In her late years, my mother confessed to me that she had dropped me on my head when I was two. As I've grown older, I've come to believe that her presumably innocent mistake resulted in the 'tilted' quality I've been accused of having in my work." We can now add to the stories in The Collected Short Fiction the splendidly tilted fictions in Three Balconies, vintage Friedman all. In these stories you'll meet Jacob, whose hysterical terror of a self-made playground demon comes back to haunt him in an entirely unforeseen way, and Alexander Kahn, a failed novelist turned journalist who discovers camaraderie and fantastic vegetables on a visit to a prison. You'll also meet Hatcher, a moral man who lacks a moral follow-through. Perhaps Friedman's most famous literary creation, Harry Towns, is back in three new stories where he encounters dubious admiration from an opportunistic past love, dabbles in minor speaking roles, contemplates the morbid functions of balconies, and faces the ongoing problem of how to maintain one's dignity in Hollywood. And the title character of the novella, "The Great Beau LeVyne" is perhaps the most memorable and inscrutable of Friedman's characters to date. In sumptuously simple language, the language of the street, the bar, the store, the office, Friedman gives us a collection of moral fables that explores friendship and failure unswervingly, yet with compassion and, as always, tremendous humour.
- Author:Trettwer, JamesSummary:
The fictional town of Liverwood’s main employer is the potash mine that seems to arc over the town and everything people do. With a novel-like persistence to detail, Trettwer’s stories observe how the townspeople thread their way through the thorn-fields of their relationships, which are complicated by their addictions and obsessions and by the numbing constancy of their lives. In the background the mine looms large, its four-rotor boring machines rumble deep under the earth, while six kilometers away, Liverwood town life embraces their rhythm. In assembling Trettwer’s links between stories, we witness elimination of the romanticism often associated with small-town simplicity, and see the exposure of the unhappiness, corruption, and the exploitation that drive the town’s human affairs. The stories disclose the fears of those whom the mine has orphaned, like Lourdes whose life forward was always fraught with uncertainty that had to be met with bravado; the stories describe all the hard-drinking and the uncertain young men like Dillon, Darryl, and Blake, or the young women driven by lust that leads to unwanted pregnancies. In Thorn-Field small-town life is anything but idyllic. Rather it becomes a collage of human foibles and peoples’ dangerous vulnerabilities.
- Author:Martin, SamuelSummary:
This Ramshackle Tabernacle is a collection of short stories set in and around the fictional villages of St. Lola and St. Olga in northeastern Ontario. Whether reflecting on the broken lives of others in the community or mourning the death of a friend who drowned in a freak fishing accident, the characters in this collection face tragedy with grace, humour and perseverance.
These stories deal with both the rundown and ruined aspects of our humanity but also with the redeeming and renewing love that can hold a community together when tragedies threaten to make it crumble.
- Author:Baudot, LaureSummary:
Laure Baudot's This One Because of the Dead is a collection of stories about the power of what goes unsaid – of the truths people keep hidden from each other, which guide their relationships and their decisions in unexpected ways. A former ballet dancer and her boyfriend who is about to scale Mt. Everest struggle with the contradictions between what they want from life and what they need from each other. A man on a business trip in Tokyo navigates culture shock as well as the muddy waters of life back home. An ex-babysitter, called to testify against one of her former clients, recalls her own complicated history with him.
- Author:Hogan, H. B.Summary:
A bush party leads to self-immolation. A cab ride ends in warfare. A squirrel is eviscerated. A universally impossible dare is accepted and proves not to be fatal. The weird kid triumphs. The stories in H. B. Hogan's debut collection sizzle like butter on hot cast iron-they're rich and dark and full of scrappy, sordid and sparkling humanity.
- Author:Blodgett, AstridSummary:
These twelve new short stories from Astrid Blodgett explore the consequences of grief and denial and single moments that change perceptions, lives, and attachments forever. Crisp prose and unexpected plot twists move relatable characters through vivid outdoor settings and interior depths. A child negotiates adult behaviour when an injured dog is put down. An older sister bribes a younger one to go on her first date. A family canoe trip launches from Disaster Point. A woman wants to hurl her granddaughter's birthday cake out the window. This Is How You Start to Disappear shows all the heartbreaking ways we evolve when coping with change or trauma.
- Author:Díaz, JunotSummary:
Presents a collection of stories that explores the heartbreak and radiance of love as it is shaped by passion, betrayal, and the echoes of intimacy.
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