A PLEA FOR CONSTANT MOTION, a collection of short stories by award-winning author Paul Carlucci publishes on January 21, 2017 with House of Anansi Press! Happy Book Birthday Paul!
From the Publisher: “Quietly atmospheric and darkly foreboding, A Plea for Constant Motion is an ominous, and occasionally unnerving, new work of fiction by award-winning author Paul Carlucci.
Penetrating and visceral, yet always offset by small moments of tenderness and humour, A Plea for Constant Motion is a powerful examination of the innate desire in everyone to change their lives and strive for something better.
Two couples share a disastrous dinner after their children are killed in a botched kidnapping overseas. A teacher with a passion for cartography orchestrates a bizarre apology after intentionally hitting a student. Desperate to be friends, a man ignores his neighbour’s strange behaviour to the peril of himself and others. A young girl babysits for a family friend, dimly aware that her presence is required for more than just childcare.”
View an interview with Paul at littlefiction.com and also listen to a story-by-story playlist of his new collection here.
Also check out Paul’s In Character interview with Open Book!
Reviews
“Paul Carlucci’s A Plea for Constant Motion is a visceral, vibrant, take-no-prisoners collection. Its characters keep talking in your head even after you put the stories down, coming back when you least expect it. Bright like nightmares, yet gauzy like half-remembered dreams — a unique touch.” Russell Wangersky, author of The Path of Most Resistance
“Paul Carlucci’s collection thrums with violence. The damaged, deranged, and dangerous are flayed open on the page by vivid, razor-sharp prose. These stories, steeped in darkness, disturb and captivate in equal measure.” Laura Trunkey, author of Double Dutch
“Paul Carlucci has a gift for the dark and the heartbreaking. In this myriad collection of stories, we meet people who have been confronted with all manner of quiet disasters. It’s a testament to the careful brilliance of Carlucci’s prose that this disaster exists hand-in-hand with redemption; these are tales of unlikely triumph, wistfully poignant and played out with a master hand.” Amanda Leduc, author of The Miracles of Ordinary Men
“Whether Paul Carlucci’s characters are dealing with class conflict, prejudice, or incomprehensible cruelty, the precision and dark, vivid humour of his stories deliver new angles on literary and societal conventions, demonstrating that the sidelines are often where the real emotional action is.” Naben Ruthnum, Journey Prize-winning author and National Post columnist
Rights Sold: House of Anansi Press, World