Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand

by Tim Bowling

The first collection of short stories from award-winning author Tim Bowling, exploring childhood, work, and aging.


Set on the west coast of British Columbia and in Edmonton, the fifteen stories in this collection focus on moments of between parents and their children, between men and women, between humans and the natural world. In this collection that’s every bit as thoughtful and masterful as his past work, Tim Bowling explores the passing of time and the (sometimes desperate) desire for meaning to return, with depth and flashes of humour.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Canada

232 pages, Paperback

Published May 6, 2025

Reviews

[Alberta Views Magazine]

Where would you find a lemonade stand after midnight? A haunted sideshow? An abandoned carnival? Tim Bowling knows. The prolific Edmonton-based author uncovers these places, both bitter and sweet, in Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand. It’s his first collection of short fiction, which I was surprised to learn, as the book is assured and compact and was a pleasure to read.

The collection’s first story, “The Living,” sets the tone. A teenager on a fishing trip with his parents encounters a sinister tramp, skulking along the river, whose vernacular-laced tales of adventure (plagiarized, the boy knows, from books he’s read) easily draw his father into his orbit. One of the collection’s strongest stories, it’s gothic and creepy, full of Bowling’s exacting detail (“Aunty Muriel wears her grey hair in a severe bun and is always sucking air through her teeth.”). Many other stories here feature adolescent boys presented with ethical dilemmas in which they’re either found wanting or, in an achingly sad moment, realize their parents are all too human....

Review by Bryn Evans
Full review at: https://albertaviews.ca/graveyard-shift/

[Mish Middelmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of several new reads I gleaned from the Globe and Mail's top Canadian books of 2025. I have been taken aback by how strong the threads of ennui and desolation are amongst the (apparently to me) white Canadian authors on the list.

This excerpt is not a random example:

Increasingly, he saw his students as motionless structures of exposed nerve-endings, and himself as a robotic fount of useless knowledge.

This story in particular explores just how hopeless and empty life can get, and ends with official reward for emptiness and fakery.

It's not as though I think emptiness does not exist, or that fakery doesn't get rewarded, but I didn't much enjoy reading about it.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a while, in fact too long, since I have settled down and read a collection of modern short stories. I’m glad I found this collection by Tim Bowling.

There is good variety in this collection. Some stories have humour, some are much more raw and gnaw at your bones. Collectively, the stories seem to feature younger characters who find themselves faced with a decision that might well change their future course in life.

Having lived in the west coast of Canada for 5 years I found myself drawn to his coastal stories. Bowling certainly captures the lifestyle and character of the west coast Canadian sensibility.

I recommend this book.

[Ella Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite Stories
- As Green as the Grass Grows, spooky and strongly emotional.
- The Key of Life, realistic and contained many well developed characters.
- The Librarian’s Dilemma, I really enjoyed the librarian’s point of view.
- The Horses of Darkness, completely changed the way I viewed horses and made me sad.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the plots were well-rounded and the characters were rich and intriguing.

[Theresa Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bowling has published in many genres (poetry, novels, and essays), but this is his debut book of short fiction, and I hope we will see more. In Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand (fabulous title!), Bowling demonstrates a writerly skill honed by three-and-a-half decades of working on his craft. The stories are poignant, funny, and intelligent, and he is comfortable in the form. I laughed out loud in "Bartleby the Sessional," will never forget the image of the young horse in "The Horses of Darkness," and re-lived some of my own childhood sporting memories in "Kapelznik in the Bottom of the Ninth." In short, the book is entertaining and moving.