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Cop House
Cop House is a short story collection about people desperately trying to recapture--or replace--the things they've lost. There are secret vacations, library book fetishes, women who participate in "fully-clothed, free-form touching and explorative play experiences" in exchange for protection from teenage vandals, and a doomsday cult operating out of an aquatic centre. An exiled polar bear spies on his old community and fights to survive in unfamiliar territory. A man campaigns to keep the sitcom Friends on the air after the collapse of his family. A masochistic deer wants to feel something other than the slow digestion of cud:
"The thing I really fantasize about is that one night a driver will stop and reverse slowly over my tail. And then maybe they get out, and slam one of my legs in the car door. Oh god. Maybe they tie me up like they're going to mount me on the roof rack, but instead they just douse me in windshield washerfluid."
Infused with dark humour, each of the sixteen stories included in the collection explores the absurdity of life when the things that really matter are placed just out of reach. Cop House is a book about the lengths people will go to undo the things that can't be undone.
"The thing I really fantasize about is that one night a driver will stop and reverse slowly over my tail. And then maybe they get out, and slam one of my legs in the car door. Oh god. Maybe they tie me up like they're going to mount me on the roof rack, but instead they just douse me in windshield washerfluid."
Infused with dark humour, each of the sixteen stories included in the collection explores the absurdity of life when the things that really matter are placed just out of reach. Cop House is a book about the lengths people will go to undo the things that can't be undone.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
232 pages, Paperback
Published February 24, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 30, 2026
Sam Shelstad’s Cop House reminds me of Arthur Bradford’s Dogwalker. Both writers are funny and quite dark, but Bradford feels kinder to his characters. Shelstad does not seem interested in kindness, although he strikes me as a kind person, the way strangers from the prairies do, in an effortless way. He puts his characters in difficult, humiliating, and often devastating situations, then lets the story sit in the muck. The result is a collection that is often funny, but just as often sad, and in a way that stings.
Shelstad writes prose that is stripped down and direct, and the stories move with real confidence, even when they take strange turns. He doesn’t dress things up, which I like. Shelstad reminds me of George Saunders, but where Saunders can make a story feel effortless, here I occasionally felt the mechanics of the story.
Still, this is a strong collection. My main reservation is that it can be pretty unrelenting at times. Nearly every story carries sadness, discomfort, or diminishment, and the humour rarely gives the book much air. There were stretches where I wanted a bit more variation in tone.
That said, several pieces really stayed with me. “New Ice Kingdom,” the polar bear story, is deeply affecting and one of the best examples of Shelstad’s ability to make an odd premise carry emotional weight. “DeRosa” is another standout, and maybe the strongest story in the book. You won't see Ross and Rachel the same way after reading it. “Cop House” is strong, but it left me sad for its protagonist and what she’s asked to tolerate. I found myself wanting a little more agency for her.
“The Girl Who Smelled of Sarsaparilla” has a good premise, a father telling his daughters a bedtime story that slowly reveals itself as a story about his marriage, but once the underlying move becomes clear, the air goes out of the piece. “This Deer Won’t Look Both Ways” is funny, but it also felt to me like a piece where the central joke runs just a little longer than it needs to, even at three pages.
Shelstad is clearly a talented writer. Cop House is sharp, strange, bleak, and often very good. Readers who like Saunders or Arthur Bradford will find a lot to admire here. I’m glad I read it, and I’m curious to see what Shelstad does in The Cobra and the Key.
It's also worth noting I read this entire book on multiple visits to the sauna at my gym. Baking hot, reading short stories, as Shelstad intended.
Shelstad writes prose that is stripped down and direct, and the stories move with real confidence, even when they take strange turns. He doesn’t dress things up, which I like. Shelstad reminds me of George Saunders, but where Saunders can make a story feel effortless, here I occasionally felt the mechanics of the story.
Still, this is a strong collection. My main reservation is that it can be pretty unrelenting at times. Nearly every story carries sadness, discomfort, or diminishment, and the humour rarely gives the book much air. There were stretches where I wanted a bit more variation in tone.
That said, several pieces really stayed with me. “New Ice Kingdom,” the polar bear story, is deeply affecting and one of the best examples of Shelstad’s ability to make an odd premise carry emotional weight. “DeRosa” is another standout, and maybe the strongest story in the book. You won't see Ross and Rachel the same way after reading it. “Cop House” is strong, but it left me sad for its protagonist and what she’s asked to tolerate. I found myself wanting a little more agency for her.
“The Girl Who Smelled of Sarsaparilla” has a good premise, a father telling his daughters a bedtime story that slowly reveals itself as a story about his marriage, but once the underlying move becomes clear, the air goes out of the piece. “This Deer Won’t Look Both Ways” is funny, but it also felt to me like a piece where the central joke runs just a little longer than it needs to, even at three pages.
Shelstad is clearly a talented writer. Cop House is sharp, strange, bleak, and often very good. Readers who like Saunders or Arthur Bradford will find a lot to admire here. I’m glad I read it, and I’m curious to see what Shelstad does in The Cobra and the Key.
It's also worth noting I read this entire book on multiple visits to the sauna at my gym. Baking hot, reading short stories, as Shelstad intended.
October 9, 2020
made me very sad and depressed did not want to go outside after reading this and not in the good way
May 23, 2023
My girlfriend sometimes picks random books for me at the library when I'm in a drought for new content. She knows I love short story collections and was drawn to the cover art. And I'm SO GLAD she grabbed it! As always, short story collections are hard to rate because they vary from story to story but I devoured this collection. My favourites were: Cop House (weirdly soft and endearing), This Deer Won't Look Both Ways (stupid - in the best way, so funny, gross), DeRosa (started funny and creepy, ended cozy and creepy), and Pool Rules (has major Back Rooms energy - super unsettling). I really loved this collection. Would love to see more people check out this book!!
January 20, 2018
Fantastic and entertaining short stories.
Wonderful stylistic modes and creative storytelling.
Many of the main characters are on the fringe of their own lives. They are on the outside looking in and have many foibles and issues which complicate their trajectories to what they think is an ideal life. While some of the stories may be fantastical in some ways, the sadness and delusions that many carry are very real.
Pleasure to read.
Wonderful stylistic modes and creative storytelling.
Many of the main characters are on the fringe of their own lives. They are on the outside looking in and have many foibles and issues which complicate their trajectories to what they think is an ideal life. While some of the stories may be fantastical in some ways, the sadness and delusions that many carry are very real.
Pleasure to read.
March 3, 2021
An interesting collection of short stories. The titular story Cop House is by far the most irksome in its truth-telling. Many of the others in the anthology have similar gut-wrenching moments. A very cathartic writer!
January 2, 2018
A great lil book full of silly stories!
May 5, 2018
The characters were flawed and very intriguing. I had no trouble becoming immersed in each one. My favorite was Cop House:)
August 25, 2020
A wonderful collection of short stories. This will stay on the shelf for a long time, and I will be happy to lend for others to read.
May 5, 2026
Very entertaining short story collection, taking the reader deep into a very bizzarro world. Reminded me a bit of Steven Millhauser's unusual stories.
October 15, 2024
I show my new students a story in this collection: New Ice Kingdom. If they can understand who the narrator is, they pass the test. I'm talking about ESL students. Apart from that, every kid likes this story. It is written in broken English, which they can relate to; plus, it's a unique story. I first read it in Prism International, a literary magazine from the University of British Columbia. That's what made me track down this book and buy it. Glad I did.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews