Canary

by Nancy Jo Cullen

"Gas, grass, or ass: No one rides for free.”

So begins this cheeky and chirpy short story debut. Working-class, a little queer, and hysterically funny, Cullen’s characters—from the hymn-singing Catholic merchandise salesman to a young lez, hitching cross-country beside a born-again pile of ashes—all encounter the killer decisions that invisibly, quietly, and quirkily shape their lives.

Genres: Short Stories, Queer, Canada, Fiction, LGBT, Gay, Lesbian

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Nancy Jo Cullen’s fiction and poems have appeared in Best Canadian Poetry 2018, The Journey Prize, The Puritan, Grain, filling Station, Plenitude, Prairie Fire, This Magazine, Room and Arc Poetry Magazine. Her first novel, The Western Alienation Merit Badge is published by Wolsak and Wynn. Her short story collection, Canary, (Biblioasis) was the winner of the 2012 Metcalfe Rooke prize.

She has published 3 collections of poetry with Calgary’s Frontenac House Press and is mid-way through her fourth collection of poetry.

Nancy is the 2010 winner of the Writers’ Trust Dayne Ogilvie Prize for Emerging Gay Writer. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph.

A transplanted westerner, she now lives in Kingston, Ontario.

Reviews

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Jo Cullen’s short story collection is the epitome of what I love about Canadian fiction: it’s brash, it’s ordinary, it’s clever, it’s rooted in place, it’s focused on everyday characters, it’s weird. To top all of this off, it’s also very, very queer. What’s extraordinary about this book’s treatment of LGBQ sexuality, though, is that the stories never centre around the characters’ queerness. There are no coming-out stories. Homophobia is never used as a plot device. Dealing with ‘being gay’ is not the focus of a single piece. The stories are actually about the complexities of LGBQ peoples’ lives and a lot of the fascinating, mundane, difficult, heartbreaking things that happen to them that have little or nothing to do with their sexualities....

See the rest of my review on my website: http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wor...

[Juniper · Rating 4 out of 5]

these stories are really good - gut-punchy, dark and twisty but hopeful too. sort of, there are moments of kindness. the dynamics of family - and how complicated and messy they can be - are well captured.

[Becky]

I don't usually rate books by friends, but I will say that I breezed through this fantastic collection of stories in two days flat, hitchhiking all across Canada on journeys fueled by Nancy Jo Cullen's striking prose. Many of the characters in these stories are common-place folk at uncommon places in their lives, and Cullen deftly introduces each them, often just before a point of self-revelation, making for an intimate and gritty collection full of tough and tender moments.

[Meg]

woo! Canadian short stories. good stuff

[Rachel Laverdiere · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good collection of short stories that centred around people you might bump into on the street. I enjoyed most of the stories.

[Snailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still haven’t figured out how I feel about these stories.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful tragicomic stories featuring some fairly grotesque characters (the cringe-inducing mother in the title story) who nevertheless are wholly sympathetic. On a sentence level it also features some of the best writing I've read all year with some absolute gems. A couple of the shorter stories didn't work for me: I suspect 'Valerie's Bush' probably works better for female readers for whom it might resonate more, and 'This Cold War' felt inconsequential. But 'Ashes', 'The 14th Week in Ordinary Time', 'Passenger', 'Eddie Truman', 'Big Fat Beautiful You' - stunning.

[Cait · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are 11 stories in this book and I liked every single one. That doesn't happen too often. My favorites were "The 14th Week In Ordinary Time", "Passenger", and "Eddie Truman". Thank you, Jennifer!

[Farzana Doctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Jo Cullen writes about ordinary lives and losses with beauty and a caustic wit. In many of her stories there is an odd and engaging combination of cynicism and hope that made me both laugh about and ponder the weirdness of human relationships.

[Ayelet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I love short stories and Cullen delivers hers with a punch. Her characters are brilliantly drawn and her dialogue is pitch perfect.

[Jael Richardson]

Such a great assortment of beautifully broken characters -- richly narrated with compelling stories.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of short stories. I loved the range and breadth of this and the type of women who inhabited these stories.

[Lauren Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, poignant; characters that are still living in my head. Read it over a few hours, in the middle of the night. Loved this book.

[Michael Hingston]

"In all, though, Canary is not unlike its namesake: small, colourful, and only too quick to take flight."

More here: http://www.straight.com/life/401211/c...

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

i just...don't really like short stories. there were a few that i wished would continue, however.

[Michael Bryson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, sad, full of lively humanity.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read her story 'Valerie's Bush' in the short story advent calendar and loved it! Then I loved all 11 stories in Canary ~ Happy Birthday and Eddie Truman were my favourites :)

[Lauren Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great stuff here, and Cullen has a wry and insightful point of view.