Monoceros

Monoceros has been longlisted for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize. 'Monoceros' is Greek for 'unicorn,' and is the name of a constellation. Unicorns figure prominently in the book as a metaphor for salvation. There have been a lot of books about teenage suicide lately, but this one tackles it from a different perspective: instead of focusing on the grief of the immediate circle, Mayr considers how incredibly widespread the effects are. She does so with a great sense of humour, but it’s never disrespectful or glib. It's quite remarkable how she manages to capture the pervasiveness, the tediousness, the absurdity of grief. Bullying, especially of gay students, has been much in the news of late. This novel explores the motivations and results of bullying from a variety of perspectives, including an unlikely perpetrator. This is Mayr’s fourth novel, and she has quite a fine reputation as a smart, funny writer. Her previous books are Moon Honey (NeWest, 1996), The Widows (NeWest, 1998), Venous Hum (Arsenal Pulp, 2005). She's been nominated for the Commonwealth Prize for Best Book in Canada-Caribbean, the ReLit Award and the Best Novel Award of the Writers' Guild of

© 2011 Coach House Books (E-bog): 9781770562790

Release date

E-bog: 4. oktober 2011