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The City Still Breathing
"This is a book with brains and muscle, resonant and intense, and Matthew Heiti is a prodigious talent, the spooky bard of mullets and muffin-tops, grow-ops and stolen snakeskin boots on Highway 69." — Mark Anthony Jarman
A body is found on the side of a highway. Naked, throat slashed, no identification. It disappears from the back of a police van and begins a strange odyssey, making its way, over the course of one early winter night, all around the northern town of Sudbury and through the lives and dreams of eleven very different people.
These eleven people -- from the police officers who retrieve the body to the teenager who carries it away to the young woman planning to strike out for Toronto and Sudbury's local drug dealer -- are all damaged in some way, and eventually, through the body itself, are brought together in a strange moment of violence.
A body is found on the side of a highway. Naked, throat slashed, no identification. It disappears from the back of a police van and begins a strange odyssey, making its way, over the course of one early winter night, all around the northern town of Sudbury and through the lives and dreams of eleven very different people.
These eleven people -- from the police officers who retrieve the body to the teenager who carries it away to the young woman planning to strike out for Toronto and Sudbury's local drug dealer -- are all damaged in some way, and eventually, through the body itself, are brought together in a strange moment of violence.
200 pages, Paperback
First published October 18, 2013
About the author
Matthew Heiti
9 books13 followersBorn in a meteor crater, Matthew is an author, playwright and screenwriter. In his spare time, he is usually working.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 25, 2014
The City Still Breathing is one of those novels that grabs you unexpectedly and doesn't let go. The characters are real, flawed, and tragic, each one propelled on their own trajectory that they can't seem to alter no matter how hard they try.
The novel is set in 1980s Sudbury, Ontario - a hard-rock mining town that's seen better days. The plot of the novel is set in motion when an unidentified body is found on the outskirts of town by two court officers. Before the body can be identified it mysteriously disappears from their possesion and sets off a chain of events that no one can predict how it will end.
A debut novel from author Matthew Heiti, the quick pacing and crisp dialogue highlights his background in writing for the stage. Whether he's writing from the perspective of a middle-aged woman worn down by life or from that of a mute has-been hockey player with a past, Heiti manages to bring the characters to life in a way that you can feel the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Regardless of whether you're familiar with the town and the landmarks, Heiti does a wonderful job weaving them into the story in a way that the city itself becomes a character in the story both sad and menancing at the same time.
If you like character driven pieces with a bit of mystery then give this a try. You won't be disappointed.
Disclaimer: I recently worked with Matthew in a playwright workshop, but this in no way influenced my review of this book. I would have loved it regardless of knowing the author personally.
The novel is set in 1980s Sudbury, Ontario - a hard-rock mining town that's seen better days. The plot of the novel is set in motion when an unidentified body is found on the outskirts of town by two court officers. Before the body can be identified it mysteriously disappears from their possesion and sets off a chain of events that no one can predict how it will end.
A debut novel from author Matthew Heiti, the quick pacing and crisp dialogue highlights his background in writing for the stage. Whether he's writing from the perspective of a middle-aged woman worn down by life or from that of a mute has-been hockey player with a past, Heiti manages to bring the characters to life in a way that you can feel the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Regardless of whether you're familiar with the town and the landmarks, Heiti does a wonderful job weaving them into the story in a way that the city itself becomes a character in the story both sad and menancing at the same time.
If you like character driven pieces with a bit of mystery then give this a try. You won't be disappointed.
Disclaimer: I recently worked with Matthew in a playwright workshop, but this in no way influenced my review of this book. I would have loved it regardless of knowing the author personally.
November 6, 2013
OK, this guy has imagination and craft to burn. Very, very interested in seeing what he does next. Pacing, voice, characterization are all strengths. Clincher: sets up the story well, but knows how to finish it with equal strength.
February 4, 2024
I wanted to love this book but I found it underwhelming and largely unmemorable. much of the plot was lackluster, like the core "mystery" never got resolved and the ending felt anti-climactic (maybe that's a hot take). the characters were actually very well-developed, but my favorite characters were featured the least often. I wish we coulda spent some more pages on them.
as it is, no word was wasted, and what the author did here was poetic, I just think it would have been worthwhile to expand upon it all.
as it is, no word was wasted, and what the author did here was poetic, I just think it would have been worthwhile to expand upon it all.
January 18, 2016
This was a really fun story to read. The novel unfolds on an winter day in a small Canadian mining town, as a series of different characters hear about a mysterious event and react with distinct personalities. The reader never learns anything more about the mystery than the characters do, which at times frustrated me as I really wanted to know how the mystery would be resolved. Overall, I really enjoyed the sense of place created by the author. I found myself mentally navigating through town along with the characters, and conjuring up visions of certain settings.
The best part is that I was able to purchase this book for $6 from 0s&1s, where 100% of the profits go back to independent publishers, instead of $10 on Amazon.
The best part is that I was able to purchase this book for $6 from 0s&1s, where 100% of the profits go back to independent publishers, instead of $10 on Amazon.
September 11, 2013
Dark, interesting read -- I really enjoyed the author's method of linking the seemingly disparate stories, and how he used the mysterious body disappearance as a bonding element to these people's lives.
August 4, 2025
It was a good read. I enjoyed the strong themes of broken dreams, broken family, ..., as well as the colour symbolism. The imagery was vibrant, as if I was there myself observing everything as it happened. it came full circle in the end, and the many roads all finally connected
as for the cons, it was hard to follow the timeline, I was confused for a lot of it until the end. there were many unanswered questions, though I think that was intentional.
it's a strong piece, and had me fully immersed.
as for the cons, it was hard to follow the timeline, I was confused for a lot of it until the end. there were many unanswered questions, though I think that was intentional.
it's a strong piece, and had me fully immersed.
July 9, 2018
This book was an easy read and totally fine but I doubt I’ll be able to talk about it once I start another book. I can recognize that it was well written and the characters definitely felt like the author knew them but again, they won’t stick in my mind once I’ve moved onto something else.
June 28, 2020
Well written and an accurate portrayal of characters in that setting at that time.
May 21, 2014
I think I'm turning into Thomas Carlyle.
I would say this book had a lot of potential—which is what one usually starts off with when they don’t like the way a book turned out—but even that is generous considering that I could not identify any potential the book already had.
The first part of this book was ok and kept me interested. The second part was exactly the opposite.
Imagery
There’s a lot of it in this book which is expected. It’s not overdone and it’s not clichéd; it’s great—probably the best thing about this book.
Modernity Influences
There are a lot of modern influences in this book: lack of main character, disruption in narrative, fragmentation, gritty and believable characters and more. Nothing is idealized. The fragmentation is abused though, and it leaves me wondering what the hell is going on. It’s not a good feeling. Sure, you can argue that this confusion is masterfully crafted by Heiti to trigger a sense of contemporary confusion within Canada as a nation. BUT, when I don’t understand anything that’s going on; when the disruption in narrative leaves me uninterested and confused, I am not impressed.
Dialogue
Heiti should stick to his plays. The dialogue in this book is just awkward, random, anonymous blurbs that contribute to a sense of confusion. To clarify there are two types of confusion that I see in mystery. The first has the reader already inducted into the work and engaging with it as a whole. The second, is a mystery as to what is going on in the first place; it leaves the reader disconnected from the material itself. The latter describes this book and why it fails.
Overall I consider this novel more of an avant-guard fiction that splices Canadian problems with mystery elements. It’s not quite there yet.
I would say this book had a lot of potential—which is what one usually starts off with when they don’t like the way a book turned out—but even that is generous considering that I could not identify any potential the book already had.
The first part of this book was ok and kept me interested. The second part was exactly the opposite.
Imagery
There’s a lot of it in this book which is expected. It’s not overdone and it’s not clichéd; it’s great—probably the best thing about this book.
Modernity Influences
There are a lot of modern influences in this book: lack of main character, disruption in narrative, fragmentation, gritty and believable characters and more. Nothing is idealized. The fragmentation is abused though, and it leaves me wondering what the hell is going on. It’s not a good feeling. Sure, you can argue that this confusion is masterfully crafted by Heiti to trigger a sense of contemporary confusion within Canada as a nation. BUT, when I don’t understand anything that’s going on; when the disruption in narrative leaves me uninterested and confused, I am not impressed.
Dialogue
Heiti should stick to his plays. The dialogue in this book is just awkward, random, anonymous blurbs that contribute to a sense of confusion. To clarify there are two types of confusion that I see in mystery. The first has the reader already inducted into the work and engaging with it as a whole. The second, is a mystery as to what is going on in the first place; it leaves the reader disconnected from the material itself. The latter describes this book and why it fails.
Overall I consider this novel more of an avant-guard fiction that splices Canadian problems with mystery elements. It’s not quite there yet.
January 3, 2014
The economic downturn left a lot of people with a confused sense of loss. Once proud centres of industry are slowly collapse inside themselves. So what is life like for the individuals of such a town. That is the brilliant element that Matthew Heiti explores in his novel The City Still Breathing.
"Normando sits on the tail of his Warlock, bow legs dangling, sun coming up. He uses the fender of the truck to pop the cap on his Northern and takes a long pull of warm beer. Scratches his belly through blue-checkered flannel, looks at the twenty-foot head of King George looking back at him. Damned big thing. Bunch of damned wood with some silver paint - doesn't know that but it's what he's heard. (Page 16)"
The northern city of Sudbury, Ontario is known for being a mining community. And with that fact comes it's reputation of harshness and grit. In The City Still Breathing Heiti has documented the lives of eleven people of that town as they try to deal with a disappearance of a dead body from a police van.
http://pacifictranquility.wordpress.c...
"Normando sits on the tail of his Warlock, bow legs dangling, sun coming up. He uses the fender of the truck to pop the cap on his Northern and takes a long pull of warm beer. Scratches his belly through blue-checkered flannel, looks at the twenty-foot head of King George looking back at him. Damned big thing. Bunch of damned wood with some silver paint - doesn't know that but it's what he's heard. (Page 16)"
The northern city of Sudbury, Ontario is known for being a mining community. And with that fact comes it's reputation of harshness and grit. In The City Still Breathing Heiti has documented the lives of eleven people of that town as they try to deal with a disappearance of a dead body from a police van.
http://pacifictranquility.wordpress.c...
February 10, 2014
Amazing!!
May 28, 2014
Gritty CanLit. Strongly developed characters. Sense of desolation in a wintery, northern Ontario town.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews