Short story specialist Lois Braun returns with a new collection, The Penance Drummer.With her remarkable eye for detail, Braun keenly observes the subtle dynamics and complexities of family relationships.In "Assassins" a teenage girl copes with her three quarrelsome aunts and confronts the serious illness of her uncle as she learns that the world around her is always changing. In "Goldie" a listless young married woman fixates on the woman, and her property, to spark her own life. "In The Half-Town Folly", an artless big city man accompanies his ne'er-do-well brother and a shifty ex-con companion as they attempt the perfect crime when what he really dreams about is his own camper and a cross-country escape. The title story reveals how a long-married couple achieve an epiphany, and a renewal, at a bus stop in Victoria.With The Penance Drummer, Lois Braun begins in rural Manitoba and opens up a whole world.

Lois Braun was born on a grain farm in southern Manitoba and studied at the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba. She has been nominated for numerous literary prizes, including the Governor General's Award, the Journey Prize, and the Manitoba Book of the Year Award.

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