Eating Habits of the Chronically Lonesome

by Megan Gail Coles

Eating Habits Of The Chronically Lonesome will leave you struck, yet, exhilarated. The exploration of starvation and consumption is at the core of each character; what does our hunger reveal about the state of our soft hearts? Ellen jumps rope on rooftops in the searing Korean sun. She has sworn off carbohydrates until she can find pants that fit. Damon resents his two dollar chow mein bought on a Montreal curb. There are half-eaten poutines on living room floors and greasy corn kernels stuck to chins. There are weak cocktails, cheap coffees, white plastic forks, and cigarettes. Everywhere.These interwoven stories are propulsive. They pull back the blast shield to reveal blinding interior voices; unrepentant and raw. Coles' irreverent characters scorch, and strangely comfort us, as they struggle to process the permeable nature of their thoughts. Such are the sardonically complex and humourous Eating Habits Of The Chronically Lonesome.

Genres: Short Stories, Canada, Fiction, Literary Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Megan Coles is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland and the National Theatre School of Canada. She is co-founder and co-artistic director of Poverty Cove Theatre Company. Megan is currently working on a trilogy of plays examining resource exploitation in Newfoundland and Labrador titled Falling Trees, Building Houses and Wasting Paper. She is a member of the Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador, Playwrights' Guild of Canada, Playwrights' Atlantic Resource Centre and Playwrights' Workshop Montreal. Her completed plays include Our Eliza, The Battery and Bound. Megan, originally from Savage Cove on the Great Northern Peninsula, currently resides in St. John's where she works at Breakwater Books. Eating Habits of the Chronically Lonesome is Megan's first fiction.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful collection of short stories. They will move you to laughter and some will move you to tears, at least that was the case for me. I found myself smiling as I read them because being from Newfoundland myself I could hear the voices of these characters so perfectly in my head.

Not all center around Newfoundland or those from there we do have the Russian family recently moved to Canada, a story that made my eyes fill I will admit; But the major them do involve Newfoundland in some form. I noticed that some stories even had connecting characters which is something I found to be neat.

I laughed, I cried, I glared, I smiled. I'm happy I read it.

[Magdelanye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am certain that I could do better...but held in place by the fear that maybe...I can't. p65
from the story This Empty House Is Full of Furniture

Anyone who has ever experienced depression will find good company here in these 16 short stories.
The titles to the stories are good too.

Some Words Taste Better Than Others p75

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

really really enjoyed this collection of stories. I loved the author’s novel and I could really see the connections between her style in this earlier work and the later book. Honestly though I think I might’ve liked these stories more? The connections between the characters were looser but that allowed the stories to cover more ground. I love the mood that Coles explores with her work and I really don’t think I’ll ever stop being delighted by fiction that is so explicitly canadian it wouldn’t work otherwise.

[Fraser Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

Had to check out a previous work of the author after reading Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club. These were interesting and had a heart to them but lacking the refinement and punch the novel has. You can see the DNA of it here though, interconnected shorts with distinct characters, problems that aren’t shied away from.

[Kerry Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was *wonderful*

[Harold Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the individual story titles.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coles has a way with words and characters, her lines of text breathless and never-ending except when they're not, usually because a character is saying something thought-derailing to the main character. The flow here is like poetry. It makes me think of Vonnegut's line about language and Ireland.

The diversity of voices here is a little thin, but for a first effort at fiction it's forgivable, and even if the delivery is similar the words and structure are not.

I'm glad I read this one, and I'll look forward to her next.

[Ive · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh...la voix des personnages n'est pas très bien définie, sauf quelques-uns, on a l'impression que c'est toujours la même personne qui parle, homme ou femme. D'ailleurs, une nouvelle est narrée par une petite fille... Ce n'est vraiment pas clair qu'il s'agit d'une enfant dans la manière dont c'est écrit. Cela cause une drôle de dissociation puisque ce qu'elle dit, les situations de parents qui la déchire par leurs chicanes, est très réaliste, mais le personnage non.

Bof.

[Intoxicatedcake · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is solid interplay between some of the stories, showing developments and continuations that heighten the overall effect. These effects are not consistently applied, and though some of the stories work singularly, others don't properly hold up to the bar that the author demonstrates they are capable of reaching. This affects the overall experience of reading the collection.

[K.R. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Megan Gail Coles’ Eating Habits of the Chronically Lonesome is a short book, but a long read, in a good way. Its stories are as dense and rich as chocolate truffles: you have to stop after a few and come back later. Which is a bit ironic, given the book‘s pervasive motifs of dissatisfaction and food anxiety.

[Emily Watt]

It would be wrong of me to rate this book when I know the reason I disliked it was because I typically don’t enjoy short stories. I picked this up solely because the author wrote my favourite book I read in 2019.

[Alicsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I genuinely enjoyed this book of short-stories. Being from Nova Scotia, I could hear the various dialects and voices of the characters. Although I found the first story a bit abrupt when I began the book, I appreciated the variety and range of perspectives. Looking forward to more from this author!

[Tracy Gaudet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful woven book of short stories. I picked up intending to pick a way over a short story at a time and put it down. I blew through it in a day. Well written and engaging.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favourites: Houseplants and Picture Frames, This Empty House is Full of Furniture, Some Words Taste Better Than Others, Ultimatums Grow Wild in This Place

[Ramona Jennex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rich array of short stories! Megan Gail Coles is a gifted writer who has a talent of providing an authenic and heartbreaking voice to her characters.

[J. Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of the stories. Loved a few. 3.5 rounded up to 4.

[Susan White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compulsively readable. Coles has a distinct voice.

[Sylvie Barrette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nouvelles, récits contemporains d'une jeune auteur de Terre Neuve qui écrit sur cette génération. Très bien traduit.

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Theses short stories were not my cup of tea and is proven by the fact that it took me more that 6 months to get over 130pages.

It was impossible for me to read more than bits at a time as it was so depressing and filled with loneliness.

I could see the quality in writing and there are probably many links between stories that I cannot recalled.

« She belongs to no one, is a part of nothing. »

[Colleen Foster · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read about half of the stories and couldn't read any more. The narrator in every story had the same voice, whether they were a 30-year-old man or a little girl. This is the MOST depressing collection I've ever read, but not in an emotionally satisfying way. Reading it just makes you feel awful and even a six- or seven-page story feels like a novel.

[Tamara Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of short stories. I adored the different voices throughout. Megan captured the charm and character of Newfoundland. I would love to read more!! It was a really neat idea to incorporate the theme of food throughout the collection.

[Shawn Syms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny. Very real. An excellent debut from a talented voice.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny, very clever. Loved this book!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real, moving stories you can easily insert yourself into, especially if you're from Newfoundland. I'd like to read more from M. Coles!

[John Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too much stream of consciousness and negativity (all the characters were losers) for me. The two foreigner stories were interesting, male and female versions of being trapped in a new culture.

[Patrí]

I thought the post office lost this package but it's finally here. Yay! Thanks Cody!

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of connected short stories. Coles has a way with the brokenhearted and her characters seem real enough to life. 3.5 stars.

[Cathy Regular · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0/5.0

This entire book is a hidden gem!

[Meg]

So much Newfoundland! For some reason I thought it was a Quebec author - but you'll get some of that too. People are kinda terrible.