Send More Tourists…the Last Ones Were Delicious by Tracey Waddleton
While some reviewers think that the humorous title befits this book, I think there is a darker side to many of the stories to which I was immediately attracted to.
creative writing
Use Your Imagination! by Kris Bertin
Halifax-based writer Kris Bertin has won many awards for his previous short story collection, Bad Things Happen (2016, Biblioasis) and I'm sure that Use Your Imagination! (2019, Vagrant Press*) will garner its share. Composed of seven stories spread over 200 pages, these are the type of short stories you can really get into.
Two New Short Story Collections from Tightrope Books
One thing is definite about Toronto’s Tightrope Books: they know a good short story when they see one. In 2016, they published Danila Botha’s excellent collection of short stories For All of the Men (and Some of the Women) I’ve Known which met with great success. Now I have just finished reading two more fine collections, Barry Dempster’s Tread & Other Stories and Rebecca Higgins’ The Colours of Birds.… Continue reading
Three New 2018 Titles From Breakwater Books
These three new titles from Newfoundland’s Breakwater Books have something for everyone, from very young to a more mature audience.
The Secret of Bowring Park by Christine Gordon Manley (with illustrations by Laurel Keating) is a fairytale for all ages, not just children. It concerns two sisters, Natalie and her older sister Elizabeth. They are visiting Bowring Park in St. John’s where there is a statue of Peter Pan with other creatures embedded in the base.… Continue reading
mouth human must die by Lee D. Thompson
This 2017 chapbook by New Brunswick author Lee D. Thompson is either the work of a literary genius or a literary madman (not that the two are mutually exclusive). Having a small acquaintance with Mr Thompson impels me to put him in the former category as this 35-page exercise in creative writing left me staggered by his vision into the schizophrenic mind of Lester, a young man who lives in his mother’s basement, refuses medication and communes nocturnally with Lara, a Slow Loris in the city’s zoo.… Continue reading