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Send More Tourists...the Last Ones Were Delicious
***SHORTLISTED FOR THE MIRAMICHI READER'S 'THE VERY BEST!' SHORT FICTION AWARD*** ***2020 RELIT SHORT FICTION WINNER***
With birth, death, contemplation, and close calls, Send More Tourists… the Last Ones Were Delicious explores how we respond to the weight of social expectations. From the hidden pressures of wall paint and tarot card predictions, to the burden of phone numbers and the dismembering of saints, Waddleton takes us on a surrealist road trip through the missteps of her vivid characters with honesty and compassion. These are stories of survival. Unafraid, dreamy, and downright weird, these stories cross boundaries of geography, gender, and generation with an eye to the transient nature of human life
With birth, death, contemplation, and close calls, Send More Tourists… the Last Ones Were Delicious explores how we respond to the weight of social expectations. From the hidden pressures of wall paint and tarot card predictions, to the burden of phone numbers and the dismembering of saints, Waddleton takes us on a surrealist road trip through the missteps of her vivid characters with honesty and compassion. These are stories of survival. Unafraid, dreamy, and downright weird, these stories cross boundaries of geography, gender, and generation with an eye to the transient nature of human life
192 pages, Paperback
Published July 8, 2019
11 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Tracey Waddleton
1 book20 followersTracey Waddleton is from Trepassey, Newfoundland. Her stories were shortlisted for the NLCU Fresh Fish Award for Emerging Writers and have been published in Riddle Fence, The Telegram, NQ, Paragon 6 and several volumes of the Cuffer Anthology. In 2015, she received the Lawrence Jackson Writers’ Award for the manuscript of Send More Tourists... the Last Ones Were Delicious. Waddleton lives and writes in Montréal, Quebec.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 11, 2019
This book is like reaching into a cookie jar and finding a Barbie head.
October 18, 2019
BOOK ReMARKS
By: Harold N. Walters
Send More Tourists …
Send More Tourists … the Last Ones Were Delicious [Breakwater Books]. Sure, the title alone is worth five or six loonies, eh b’ys?
Here’s what happened. I tossed a tiresome tome that was causing me cardiovascular contractions into the trash, climbed up my Books-To-Read tower, and — attracted first by its “pick me, pick me” yellow cover and second by the bewitching title — I selected Send More Tourists.
A mug of Tension Tamer herbal tea at hand, I hove off in my Lay-Z-Boy and commenced reading.
I forgot my Tension Tamer.
I neglected my supper.
In one sitting, I read from cover to cover with a Great Big WOW swelling to the point of bursting in my chest … which it eventually did. Burst, that is — the WOW, not my chest.
B’ys, if a deflated balloon can make a statement about the aftermath of catharsis, then that’s how I felt. Does that make any sense?
Still slopped in my chair, I imitated Jim Furlong.
You know Jim of NTV’s A Matter of Reflection, eh?
I reflected … on … well, Tracy Waddleton’s stories and decided she was no Joyce Carol Oates … and hurray for that.
An explanation. In a previous century, attempting to be high-brow, or nurture my feminine side, I tackled a collection of Joyce Carol Oates stories. P’raps it’s only me — a Philistine with no sensitive feminine side, with no appreciation of modern lit-er-a-ture — but I hated Oates’ long ‘ol crawling-along stories. I chucked the book in the trash.
Yes, childishly spitefully, I’m inclined to dump books that displease me. (Hey, listen, I’m not destroying literature because millions of other copies exist. Besides, no one cares a fig about what I think.)
Where was I?
Oh. Tracy Waddleton’s stories are not long ‘ol anything.
They are gunslinger stories — quick-drawn, shot-from-the-hip, Bang, Bang, Bang.
Tracy Waddleton’s stories strike like bullets to the heart.
Hurray for that.
But, at the same time, they are scary, sobering, substantial.
Please hear me out before clicking the trashcan icon. From first to final line, Tracy’s shuff-off story — “It Lunged” — is only a foot long. (Yes, I measured with a ruler.) It’s as swift and piercing as a hornet’s sting.
It’s a horror story about a monster beneath a little girl’s bed. Even though the monster might ultimately gobble her up, it says it’s sorry for grabbing her ankle with its claws, and further explains that it does nasty things because — “It’s my job.”
In the concluding couple of inches of the story the monster rears up — “It stood and fanned, its tentacles scraping the wall.”
Fanned … with tentacles, for frig sake!
And then it lunged.
There you have it. Smidgens of sympathy or not, the monsters that lurk under our beds will ultimately lunge for the neck’s tender flesh.
Consequently, we mortals on this planet are always tormented, always anxious about the monsters that lurk under our beds and eventually lunge.
B’ys, there’s likely some symbolic stuff involved here that I’m not qualified to remark on.
The eponymous Martha in “Martha Rides the Bus at Three”, suffers anxiety, fears the lurking monsters, fears the boys she sees on the bus — “Perhaps these boys would follow, knock her down in broad daylight, take her purse and her few dollars.”
In “A Person of Chasity and Correct Habits” there’s a monster lurking in Mary Moore’s life, a monster that lunges and leaves Mary floating in the duck pond behind Mr. Walton’s shop.
When innocent bay-girl, Elizabeth, first attends MUN she fears shadowy, knife-toting figures haunting the tunneled hallways — “Even when it doesn’t happen again and again, you think of it lurking, leaning in under the pipes.”
And in “Home Again With the Fire Out” — “I think the ocean is some great beast, that any moment it will rise and climb the beach for us.”
Last example. At the end of “Deep Blue Sea” the narrator, choking on pills and powder, lies dying, caught between the story’s title and the Devil figure — “… a tall man with an empty vase and a slow smile spreading.”
Listen. I’ve chuff-chuffed down a single track aboard my imperfect train of thought. There’s plenty of other freight in Tracy’s stories.
But …
… in “The Lottery” there’s a pile of rocks suggesting the possibility of stones being thrown.
While Tracy Waddleton may be no Joyce Carol Oates, she just might — just might — show shades of Shirley Jackson.
Thank you for reading …
… and not dumping these scribbles in the garbage. You didn’t, did you?
— Harold Walters lives in Dunville, Newfoundland, doing his damnedest to live Happily Ever After. Reach him at ghwalters663@gmail.com
By: Harold N. Walters
Send More Tourists …
Send More Tourists … the Last Ones Were Delicious [Breakwater Books]. Sure, the title alone is worth five or six loonies, eh b’ys?
Here’s what happened. I tossed a tiresome tome that was causing me cardiovascular contractions into the trash, climbed up my Books-To-Read tower, and — attracted first by its “pick me, pick me” yellow cover and second by the bewitching title — I selected Send More Tourists.
A mug of Tension Tamer herbal tea at hand, I hove off in my Lay-Z-Boy and commenced reading.
I forgot my Tension Tamer.
I neglected my supper.
In one sitting, I read from cover to cover with a Great Big WOW swelling to the point of bursting in my chest … which it eventually did. Burst, that is — the WOW, not my chest.
B’ys, if a deflated balloon can make a statement about the aftermath of catharsis, then that’s how I felt. Does that make any sense?
Still slopped in my chair, I imitated Jim Furlong.
You know Jim of NTV’s A Matter of Reflection, eh?
I reflected … on … well, Tracy Waddleton’s stories and decided she was no Joyce Carol Oates … and hurray for that.
An explanation. In a previous century, attempting to be high-brow, or nurture my feminine side, I tackled a collection of Joyce Carol Oates stories. P’raps it’s only me — a Philistine with no sensitive feminine side, with no appreciation of modern lit-er-a-ture — but I hated Oates’ long ‘ol crawling-along stories. I chucked the book in the trash.
Yes, childishly spitefully, I’m inclined to dump books that displease me. (Hey, listen, I’m not destroying literature because millions of other copies exist. Besides, no one cares a fig about what I think.)
Where was I?
Oh. Tracy Waddleton’s stories are not long ‘ol anything.
They are gunslinger stories — quick-drawn, shot-from-the-hip, Bang, Bang, Bang.
Tracy Waddleton’s stories strike like bullets to the heart.
Hurray for that.
But, at the same time, they are scary, sobering, substantial.
Please hear me out before clicking the trashcan icon. From first to final line, Tracy’s shuff-off story — “It Lunged” — is only a foot long. (Yes, I measured with a ruler.) It’s as swift and piercing as a hornet’s sting.
It’s a horror story about a monster beneath a little girl’s bed. Even though the monster might ultimately gobble her up, it says it’s sorry for grabbing her ankle with its claws, and further explains that it does nasty things because — “It’s my job.”
In the concluding couple of inches of the story the monster rears up — “It stood and fanned, its tentacles scraping the wall.”
Fanned … with tentacles, for frig sake!
And then it lunged.
There you have it. Smidgens of sympathy or not, the monsters that lurk under our beds will ultimately lunge for the neck’s tender flesh.
Consequently, we mortals on this planet are always tormented, always anxious about the monsters that lurk under our beds and eventually lunge.
B’ys, there’s likely some symbolic stuff involved here that I’m not qualified to remark on.
The eponymous Martha in “Martha Rides the Bus at Three”, suffers anxiety, fears the lurking monsters, fears the boys she sees on the bus — “Perhaps these boys would follow, knock her down in broad daylight, take her purse and her few dollars.”
In “A Person of Chasity and Correct Habits” there’s a monster lurking in Mary Moore’s life, a monster that lunges and leaves Mary floating in the duck pond behind Mr. Walton’s shop.
When innocent bay-girl, Elizabeth, first attends MUN she fears shadowy, knife-toting figures haunting the tunneled hallways — “Even when it doesn’t happen again and again, you think of it lurking, leaning in under the pipes.”
And in “Home Again With the Fire Out” — “I think the ocean is some great beast, that any moment it will rise and climb the beach for us.”
Last example. At the end of “Deep Blue Sea” the narrator, choking on pills and powder, lies dying, caught between the story’s title and the Devil figure — “… a tall man with an empty vase and a slow smile spreading.”
Listen. I’ve chuff-chuffed down a single track aboard my imperfect train of thought. There’s plenty of other freight in Tracy’s stories.
But …
… in “The Lottery” there’s a pile of rocks suggesting the possibility of stones being thrown.
While Tracy Waddleton may be no Joyce Carol Oates, she just might — just might — show shades of Shirley Jackson.
Thank you for reading …
… and not dumping these scribbles in the garbage. You didn’t, did you?
— Harold Walters lives in Dunville, Newfoundland, doing his damnedest to live Happily Ever After. Reach him at ghwalters663@gmail.com
September 1, 2019
“Send More Tourists, the Last Ones Were Delicious” is a must-read for all women, most men, and some animals.
Don’t let the playful title and bright jacket fool you. Tracey Waddleton’s debut story collection can be as deep and dark as the waters around her home town, Trepassey. But don’t be afraid, jump right in. Waddleton’s writing pulls you briskly along, living, learning and loving in rural Newfoundland’s early days of the ACE (After Codfish Era).
The aforementioned jacket is yellow – not ecru. Ecru, I’ve learned from one of Waddleton’s characters, is the new beige. And, like the old beige, ecru can be a metaphor for a way of life – think suburban bungalows backing on a green belt – a way of life, I suspect, Waddleton, like her protagonist, chose not to live or permit herself to be shoehorned into - a happy outcome for the Newfoundland literary scene. Hopefully, Waddleton, now anchored in Montreal - probably not backing on a quiet greenbelt - will soon be sending us more stories, because the last ones were, you know, delicious!
Don’t let the playful title and bright jacket fool you. Tracey Waddleton’s debut story collection can be as deep and dark as the waters around her home town, Trepassey. But don’t be afraid, jump right in. Waddleton’s writing pulls you briskly along, living, learning and loving in rural Newfoundland’s early days of the ACE (After Codfish Era).
The aforementioned jacket is yellow – not ecru. Ecru, I’ve learned from one of Waddleton’s characters, is the new beige. And, like the old beige, ecru can be a metaphor for a way of life – think suburban bungalows backing on a green belt – a way of life, I suspect, Waddleton, like her protagonist, chose not to live or permit herself to be shoehorned into - a happy outcome for the Newfoundland literary scene. Hopefully, Waddleton, now anchored in Montreal - probably not backing on a quiet greenbelt - will soon be sending us more stories, because the last ones were, you know, delicious!
August 3, 2019
A fine debut from a local Newfoundland author. Her stories are quirky and often strange that take one in unexpected directions.
She has an amazing eye for the smallest detail, "The Phone Book" being a magnificent example.
She has a great career ahead of her. More please.
She has an amazing eye for the smallest detail, "The Phone Book" being a magnificent example.
She has a great career ahead of her. More please.
September 28, 2019
Impressive debut collection of contemporary short fiction and certainly here's another fine writer emerging from The Rock.
August 3, 2019
Great read! Interesting characters and storylines! I gasped out loud at the endings of “A person of chastity and correct habits” and “Old Ben Walsh”! I could feel the fear in “Send more Tourists...”.
November 10, 2019
"Beneath the sea, my grandfather says, are other worlds. Beneath that tree on the island, there is a city, corrupt and wasting. Birds fly, shrieking, doomed, and they do not know of us. They do not know that their sky is our sea, that there is breath yet, that there is escape. It is only the dark things that know the way to the surface, he says. For in darkness comes understanding."
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Thoughts~
What a witty and original ride this book is! Yay for more amazing #canlit!!
Tracy Waddleton's debut collection took me by surprise! It's so fresh and clever and hilarious! One of the best I have read in a long time. These stories are strange in all the best ways. I was entertained and completely captivated. We meet characters that are lively and authentic, spanning generations, plots that range from murder, to lonliness, love, to infidelity, and chicken.
Her prose and storytelling are honed and impressive. I can't wait for whatever she does next! Highly Highly Reccomend this collection!!
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Thank You to @breakwaterbooks for sending me this book opinions are my own.
•
Thoughts~
What a witty and original ride this book is! Yay for more amazing #canlit!!
Tracy Waddleton's debut collection took me by surprise! It's so fresh and clever and hilarious! One of the best I have read in a long time. These stories are strange in all the best ways. I was entertained and completely captivated. We meet characters that are lively and authentic, spanning generations, plots that range from murder, to lonliness, love, to infidelity, and chicken.
Her prose and storytelling are honed and impressive. I can't wait for whatever she does next! Highly Highly Reccomend this collection!!
•
Thank You to @breakwaterbooks for sending me this book opinions are my own.
November 11, 2019
There is a lot to be said for editing. This collection of stories shows how NOT to do it.
August 2, 2019
This book has everything. I was continually surprised and constantly enthralled, story after story. There are so many memorable characters ranging from children to elderly and many people who I felt like I knew intimately, immediately. Waddeltons voices and her characters will stick with you a long time, and the sheer range of this collection will blow you away.
I can't recommend it highly enough. 5 stars. 6 if I could.
I can't recommend it highly enough. 5 stars. 6 if I could.
Read
October 1, 2019A collection of short stories by Tracey Waddleton I hoped was a novel. Each story grabbed me and sucked me in then ended, letting me decide if she made it to Russia, if the driver survived, or who killed the lady in the lake but I guess that makes for a good story – leaving it to simmer long after it’s read.
Riding With Maurice, one of the stories, struck me the most in its truth and hardship in the simplest form. For many it’s a struggle to get out of bed each morning and Waddleton’s account of a person who is dealing with depression was heartbreaking, making me wonder if she had first hand experience to be able to tell the tale so well. “Write what you know” can be healing and such a challenge.
Her first, and I hope not the last, collection of short stories, Waddleton includes 25 stories to ensure the book contains something for everyone (about the age of 19, in my opinion), even if not all are for all.
Riding With Maurice, one of the stories, struck me the most in its truth and hardship in the simplest form. For many it’s a struggle to get out of bed each morning and Waddleton’s account of a person who is dealing with depression was heartbreaking, making me wonder if she had first hand experience to be able to tell the tale so well. “Write what you know” can be healing and such a challenge.
Her first, and I hope not the last, collection of short stories, Waddleton includes 25 stories to ensure the book contains something for everyone (about the age of 19, in my opinion), even if not all are for all.
May 28, 2020
I picked up this book because the author is from Newfoundland. I'll read just about anything that comes from that wacky island. I rarely look at short stories, but, not having much access to Newfoundland writers where I live, i thought a book by Tracey Waddleton, who I had not heard of, would not be much of a risk. The title, plus the praise on the front that the book is "Savage, inventive, and very, very funny" was more than I needed to know to buy it. It was clever, it was okay.
The first time I listened to an episode of the Great Eastern on the CBC, I KNEW that I had to visit Newfoundland. If Send More Tourists, The Last Ones Were Delicious, had been my introduction to Newfoundland and Labrador, chances are the province would still be on my list of places to visit.
The first time I listened to an episode of the Great Eastern on the CBC, I KNEW that I had to visit Newfoundland. If Send More Tourists, The Last Ones Were Delicious, had been my introduction to Newfoundland and Labrador, chances are the province would still be on my list of places to visit.
January 10, 2020
This collection is phenomenal. As another reviewer said, the story "Old Ben Walsh" is destined to be a classic. Fully agree. I gasped out loud after reading it. My second favourite was "A Person of Chastity and Correct Habits." These short stories are a must-read!!
Read
June 20, 2020This diverse collection of stories was just not for me. While I did like a few of the stories, like "Townie", "Home Again With the Fire Out", and "Mr. Moriarity", it just wasn't my cup of tea overall.
November 21, 2020
Tracey Waddleton’s prose reads as if she’s Margaret Atwood wearing the skin of Douglas Adams.
She’s not either, she’s both. One aping the other until they’re both perfect. With a little of what’s clearly her own brought in to play.
She’s not either, she’s both. One aping the other until they’re both perfect. With a little of what’s clearly her own brought in to play.
July 31, 2019
Couldn't put it down!! It kept me guessing at what strange, funny, twisted scenario would play out next. This book is unlike anything I've ever read (in a good way), and is refreshingly raw and real!
May 31, 2020
The writing is fantastic. 3 stars just because some of the stories left me wanting much more! I’ll definitely read anything else published by Tracey Waddleton.
June 30, 2020
One of the best collection of short stories I've read in ages.
May 16, 2020
This book was a little unusual and very interesting. Each story has unexpected turns and doesn't turn out exactly as one expects if at all. Definitely a must read from a promising author!
February 23, 2022
Some real gems and some that just didn't work for me. But the gems are good enough that I will seek out anything else this writer publishes!
January 4, 2020
Fresh, surprising, sharp, insightful - just a few words to describe this powerful new collection. Tracey Waddleton is an exciting new voice on the scene and I can't wait to have a copy of this book in my hands. Magical stories that you eat, not with a spoon but with a knife and fork. "Old Ben Walsh" is sure to become a future classic. "Send More Tourists ... the Last Ones Were Delicious" is a must read.
October 19, 2025
(4.5)
Great short story collection, more impactful for me with St. John’s fresh in my head.
Great short story collection, more impactful for me with St. John’s fresh in my head.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews