Indigenous Beasts (Paperback)

Disturbing, energetic, and uncommonly insightful, these chilling stories peer into the lives of men -- from young men struggling to maturity to old men realizing that youth is gone -- that attract even as they repel. Intriguing, seductive, sometimes despicable, they're lost in their efforts to make sense of their relationships, both with the women in their lives -- girlfriends, mothers, strippers -- and the men -- fathers, coworkers, dealers. The stories are savage and seething, intense with despair and depravity. They're bloody and beautiful and full of wisdom discovered by pathetic heroes that lurch toward a truce with some unattainable and off-kilter moral standard. They're also perfectly crafted, with a keen sense of place. An extraordinary debut from a young Canadian writer, "Indigenous Beasts" reveals a cultural identity that mirrors the Canadian landscape: raw, elementary, and strangely beautiful.