Prodigals

by Sean Minogue

70 pages, Paperback

Published August 30, 2025

About the author

Sean Minogue has written for film, television, and theatre. Turnstone Press published his debut novel, Terminal Solstice, and Latitude 46 published his play, Prodigals.

Sean's stories, poetry, and essays have appeared in Lithub, ARC Poetry Magazine, Maudlin House, The Algomian, Full Stop, THIS Magazine, The Globe and Mail, and elsewhere. He lives in Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

[Adam McPhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun. It's sort of like a reunion novel, except only one character is reuniting with the others, who've stayed put in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, their lives revolving around a dive bar. One of their number stays offstage for the duration of the play, but he's the reason they're called together: he's on trial for killing someone in a bar fight. But the reason we're here is for the banter, which is top notch. He really captures that feeling of being stuck in a group of people who all know each other a little too well, who could use some distance from one another but are too inert to find it.

I wrote recently about Kate Beaton's call for more working class literature, and I think this fits nicely into what's being called for. Imagine if Always Sunny had stayed a little more realistic and downtrodden as in its earliest seasons, not quite as cartoonish but still plenty funny, and you've got the spirit of the thing.

Thanks to River Street for the ARC.