• Grade: 11,12

In a Mist explores longing, loss and isolation. This debut collection of short stories examines the lives of socially isolated individuals with obsessive interests and desires. These lonely protagonists find solace in emotionally evocative forms of cultural expression such as early jazz, classic cinema and renaissance motets. The transcendent potential of music is a recurring theme of this collection.

Devon Code is the award-winning author of fiction, short stories, and critical reviews. In a Mist, Code's first collection of short stories, was longlisted for the 2008 ReLit Award and was included on The Globe and Mail's "Best Books" list. In 2010, Code was the recipient of the Journey Prize for his story "Uncle Oscar." His reviews of literary fiction have appeared in The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Quill & Quire, and Canadian Notes & Queries. Originally from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Code lives in Peterborough, Ontario. Code's latest novel Involuntary Bliss is forthcoming from BookThug in the fall of 2016. Connect with Code on his website (www.devoncode.ca) or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/devon.code).

Devon Code's profile page

"In these deft and engaging stories Devon Code explores the subliminal forces that shape people’s lives and reminds us how deeply mysterious the ordinary world is."—John Steffler, author of The Afterlife of George Cartwright and Helix

"In a Mist is a solid debut, intelligent and meticulously constructed […] Horrific and humorous, short but rich, the book is all that jazz."—Jane Thompson, Fast Forward Weekly

"At its best, Devon Code’s writing utterly obscures itself: author invisible, art luminous."—Jim Bartley, Globe and Mail

"Each of Code’s condensed and complete worlds pivots on a fulcrum of male fixations, delving equally into desire and regret. He manages the balance deftly, revealing individuals and their stories through a remarkable skill for finding those strange quirks of perception routinely hidden between the mundane worlds of neighbours, jobs and acquaintances."—Bruce Johnson, Atlantic Books Today

"While reading these meticulously constructed and intelligent stories, I also kept thinking about classic American cinema: where whiskey is kept in bedside tables, bartenders are confidants and men with names like Morty and Lloyd rule."—Sue Carter Flinn, The Coast

Reviewers