“Penetrating every corner of this cramped and desolate world, in a town with ‘the world’s shittiest beach and a lot of bitter people,’ is, unsurprisingly, alcohol. If poverty is the villain of the novel, its ruthless accomplice is alcohol.” —Theo Dombrowski reviews Bruise, by Adrian Markle (Victoria: Touchwood Editions, 2024) $24.00 / 9781990071072
An entertaining, raucous, and deeply weird novel splices together a boxing comeback story, veganism, bout fixing, and… Sherlock Holmes. —Logan Macnair reviews Pet, Pet, Slap, by Andrew Battershill (Toronto: Coach House Books, 2024) $23.95 / 9781552454763
Two poets tackle social margins and underbellies. —Joe Enns reviews A Brief Relief From Hunger, by Spenser Smith (Guelph: Gordon Hill Press, 2023) $20.00 / 9781774220986 and Fishing for Leviathan, by Rodney DeCroo (Vancouver: Anvil Press, 2023) $18.00 / 9781772142136