Play the Monster Blind: StoriesAn exhilarating collection of short fiction, Play the Monster Blind showcases the remarkably original voice of Lynn Coady, the award-winning author of Strange Heaven. Funny, poignant and smart, full of unforgettable characters, these stories explore the violence of family, the constraints of small-town life and the elusive promise of escape. In "Ice Cream Man," an adolescent girl struggles to come to terms with her mother's death and her father's seeming indifference while conducting a secret affair with an older man from the local arena. Gerald, the young boy in "Big Dog Rage," goes to extreme and reckless measures to thwart the expectations of his parents, teachers, and the local priest, leaving his childhood friend to look longingly on. And in the title story, Bethany sees her gentle fiancé anew as she enters the raucous world of his hard-drinking family. Receiving a sharp shot to the mouth from her future sister-in-law Bethany finds her place in this clan secured. With her incisive, resonant prose, Lynn Coady elicits laughter, sadness, and compassion. Play the Monster Blind is a keenly observed, imaginative collection from one of the most distinctive talents to arrive on Canada's literary scene in years. |
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Alan Alex Andrea anyway asked Aunt Marg Bay City Rollers beer Bess thought Bess's Bethany boyfriend Cassie Ann chair Cookie couple Daddy day-cake dear Dirty Boogie Dougal drink drunk Dylan everything eyes face father feel feet friends front Gerald getting girl goddamn goddamnit grandmother hair hands head hear hollering houseboat Humphrey Bogart Jesus John keep kids kind kitchen knew Kunakorn Lachie laugh living look Lyle Lynn Coady Madonna Maliwan Margaret-Ann Martin Mommy mother never nice night once play Ramona Red Ruf remember Sandy says Murdeena shit sister sleep Sloane Sloane house smiling Sobey's someone sort sport utility vehicle stand started stop talk Tamara tell there's thing told town trying turned Uncle Remus waiting walk wanted watching woman