Canary

"Gas, grass, or ass: No one rides for free". So begins this cheeky and chirpy short story debut by Nancy Jo Cullen. Working-class, a little queer, and a lot funny, Cullen''s characters-from the hymn-singing Catholic merch salesman to the young lez, hitching rides beside a born-again pile of ashes-encounter the killer decisions that will invisibly, quietly, and quirkily shape our lives.Nancy Jo Cullen mines humanity's beautiful fault-lines. There is not one lousy story in this bunch, but there are plenty of lousy people, all of them gleaming with the shimmer of real. Cullen knows just where to find the funny in tragedy, and how to make words feel like life. - Kathryn KuitenbrouwerCullen's prose is volcanic even when she's describing the most domestic situations possible - the language is full of subterranean rumbles that simultaneously disturb and delight. The writing is always surprising, always bright, even in the most somber moments. Moving and funny, these stories will break your heart in the very best way. - Suzette Mayr

"A taken-for-granted sexual transiency is the most strikingly contemporary feature of these stories; if it were written a decade ago the fact that many of the characters are gay, lesbian or bisexual would be seen as a political statement. But in Canary the sexuality of the characters doesn't define their identity, and is in fact often as transitory and up-for-grabs as every other aspect of their unsettled lives. The quietly radical assumption implicit in the book is that sex isn't a matter of fixed identity but of opportunistic action ... in story after story Cullen won me over. Their people and situations rang close to life ... Cullen deserves all the acclaim she's going to receive."This collection is very good...there is plenty here to satisfy, the narrative arc running high and long ... robust, with a wide, compassionate embrace. -The Winnipeg Review