Moving, entertaining, and witty, A Thousand Consolations is a literary romantic comedy for fans of David Nicholls’s Us and Emma Straub’s Modern Lovers.

Paula doesn’t put much faith in the candles she designs for her customers, which promise to cure everything from unrequited love to ingrown toenails; it’s just a business she started after her husband’s untimely death put an end to their joint dream of a career on the stage. Believing she may have somehow contributed to Teddy’s illness, Paula is too crippled by guilt to pursue the dream of acting on her own, and too bitter to believe she’ll ever be happy again.

Then she meets Héctor, a former concert pianist seeking refuge from the Mexican narcos who severed his fingers and threatened worse. With great charm and wit, Héctor seduces her into believing in a life in which hope coexists with disappointment, happiness with loss. Paula begins to believe that love is a possibility after all. But will Héctor be allowed to remain in Canada, or be sent back to an unknown fate?

A Thousand Consolations is a surprisingly funny novel in which virtuosity, philosophy, and humour endure despite the modern blights of refugee politics and the threat of narcoterrorism.

Julie Roorda's poems and short stories have appeared in publications across Canada, and her previous books include a collection of short stories and two volumes of poetry. In addition to writing fiction, she works as a writer, editor and researcher with the University of Toronto and the University Health Network. Wings of a Bee is Roorda's first novel for young adults.

Julie Roorda's profile page

Reminiscent of Meg Wolitzer, Julie Roorda’s A Thousand Consolations is full of wit, insight, and stellar writing.

Karma Brown, bestselling author of Come Away with Me

"Roorda . . . has a knack for witty dialogue and an eye for the sharp, smart details of friend and family dynamics . . . . The day-to-day moments of connection are where this novel really shines."

Quill & Quire

In flowing, natural prose, Julie Roorda tells two intertwined love stories that illuminate the complexities of the human heart in a world touched by illness and cruelty. Often funny, always honest, A Thousand Consolations is a wonderful novel

Ann Eriksson, author of The Performance