Freak Weather

by Mary Kuryla

From a nurse who sees a rattlesnake in the pediatric ICU to an animal control officer convinced she's found her abducted daughter in the house of a dog hoarder, the thirteen stories in Freak Weather are as unpredictable as the atmospheric changes that give this collection its name. With dark and raucous humor, Mary Kuryla creates female characters who, at times, combine a violent urgency with lack of introspection as they struggle to get out from under the thumb of a perceived authority. The intricate language is inseparable from the narrator's conviction; the characters lie with such bravado they're soon tangled up in their own webs. This brand of romanticism in a female character is little tolerated, and Freak Weather 's mission―Kuryla's artistic mission overall―is to scratch at the intolerable. Call it bad instructions for moral behavior.

180 pages, Hardcover

Published October 6, 2017

Reviews

[Cassandra Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning collection of stories with bite. Exquisite language and deft (highly unusual) characterisation. I'll be curious to see a novel from this author.

[Lexi Freiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are darkly brilliant, uniquely funny and dangerous. The language is fresh and twisted and fun. Kuryla takes us on wild rides into the minds of wild people. In our current moment of victims and villains, she confronts us with shocking plots and morally ambiguous characters; reminding us that we are all mongrels of good and bad. This is really exciting fiction.