Description
Book SynopsisThe stories in Vermin are linked by themes of loss, longing and music: a restaurant server in a Tofino restaurant reflects on the nature of men in her past and present; a woman prepares to marry a brooding artist unpopular with both her parents and her small town community; a new homeowner has strange encounters witha previous owner who is struggling to let go. Stories in this collection have appeared in Joyland, The Saturday Evening Post, Room, The Antigonish Review and other journals and anthologies.
Trade Review"These are well-made stories that offer convincingly conflicted characters. A hospitable, entertaining read. Alberta Views
part of the strength in Hahnels often funny, occasionally sad and always intriguing collection is that they take readers in all sorts of directions. Calgary Herald
Vermin is an immersive collection of short stories that demonstrate a notable breadth of talented writing. Anne Logan, Ive Read This
Hahnel is keenly aware of the daily suffering of life, and once in a while, of the sought-for moments of forgetfulness of a troubled place, or of a desperate, short-lived bliss. But there are no lyric flights here, the prose is unadorned, straight-forward and clear, what is unsaid often more important than what is, and her characters are on the move, often aimlessly, from one unsatisfactory situation to another, while their friends become drifters and vanish and reappear and vanish again. These are touching, gentle stories about the lives of women and girls who arent lucky in their beginnings or backgrounds, nor particularly wise, and yet, their stories, with their rare and tiny triumphs, resonate. Sharon Butala, author of Season of Fury and Wonder
With remarkable range, Lori Hahnel captures women who experience disappointment and alienation, heartbreak and oppression. The delight of the collection comes in the way Hahnels fully realized protagonists a lively cast of outsiders and rebels continue, despite lifes adversity, to find the strength to live authentically. VERMIN is a treasure from one of Albertas bright lights. Angie Abdou, author of Home Ice: Reflections of a Reluctant Hockey Mom
In these stories, Lori Hahnel reimagines the subject of love. In the time of parasites her flawed and transient characters attempt to find coherence in their lives. Hahnel never overstays or overplays. With the sure hand and clear eye of a surgeon, she cuts to the quick, dissects and reveals moments of truth in the lies people tell each other and in the lies they tell themselves. Writing with classical dispassion, she doesnt moralize, disapprove or romanticize. Instead, she sees and selects and exposes the wilderness of the human heart. Cecelia Frey, author of Lovers Fall Back To Earth and recipient of the Golden Pen Lifetime Achievement Award"
