Tuckahoe Slidebottle

by Neil McKinnon

*Shortlisted for the 2007 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

*Shortlisted for the 2007 Howard O'Hagan Short Fiction Award (Alberta Book Awards)

What happens in the small prairie town of Tuckahoe? An irresponsible drifter fakes a unique illness to break an engagement. A preacher stops a feud by performing an impromptu wedding. A minister's wife rescues a young man from the threat of blindness. A woman scandalizes a town by naming her children after different fathers. A schoolteacher finds love on a woodpile. A wanted man starts a new life in a piano box. And a hen-pecked husband repairs his marriage by getting drunk and losing his money.

Neil McKinnon's debut collection kicks up some dust, skews small town hokum, and offers a wrap on the knuckles for the individuals of the classic prairie town of Tuckahoe. Throughout the desperation and adversity rides an undercurrent of sly humour.

223 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Kelty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey, my dad wrote it-

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a short story fan, but these were easy to relate to (small town prairie life) with a good sense of humour. Easy to read one or two and then put it away for a bit.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book. Very vivid on the lifestyle of the era. Bars in small
Communities continued as such today.

[George Porter]

I was in the same grade,class and school as Neil. We all wished we were as good students as he was but I wasn’t prepared for a book like this. I laughed until my sides hurt because I could put names and faces to most of his characters