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Longlisted for the 2014 Frank O'Connor Award
Novelists: the soul of an age, certainly. Brilliant? Perhaps. Yet aren’t they also doddering, petulant, pedantic, knockkneed, skittish, and thunderingly insecure—resentful, awkward, annoying—demanding, deluded, and vexingly indifferent to reality? New from short fiction devotée C.P. Boyko, Novelists is a comedy of manners (and manuscripts), rivalling Vanity Fair for its satirical wit… though not, mercifully, for its length.
PRAISE FOR NOVELISTS
“Proudly, gloriously, gleefully old-fashioned in their style and settings, these largely comic stories about the worst traits of artists are more serious than they at first seem: they depict the petty insecurities that fuel every creative act.”—Russell Smith
“If you are a normal person, these stories, with their pitch-perfect satirical humour and their finely tuned sentences, will make you laugh out loud. If you are a writer, first you will squirm with recognition while envying his impressive vocabulary, his nimble grammar, and his startling imagery, and then you’ll laugh out loud.”—Diane Schoemperlen
PRAISE FOR C.P. BOYKO
“Readers will enjoy the author’s versatility, quirky (sometimes uproarious) sense of humor, sardonic view of the world, and fruitful imagination … Libraries with any short-fiction readers should buy this book and keep an eye out for the next one.”—Booklist, starred review
“Nothing short of astonishing.”—The Walrus
“Keep your eye on this young Canadian talent.”—Chatelaine
“Stunning … Boyko has an unstoppable imagination.”—The Globe & Mail
“Stealthy, seductive … A collection that in many ways … will provide thought-fodder, not to mention good old-fashioned pleasure, for months.”— The Montreal Gazette
“Fans of satirical fiction will love this … impeccably researched and unflinchingly intelligent.” —The National Post
"Uproarious ... Boyko's ensemble of absurd, inexhaustible narcissists comes uncomfortably near to reality."—The Wall Street Journal
"These stories are funny and sardonic, satirical, well-written, and keen ... [Boyko's] characters are larger-than-life, very funny, but more authentic than they first seem ... we'll enjoy laughing at them, and laugh at ourselves at the same time."—The San Francisco Book Review
"Few writers in this country have a better poker face than C.P. Boyko ... vivid and wickedly funny."—The Globe & Mail
"Laughter is Boyko’s preferred method in Novelists: He examines the pomposity and naked insecurities of his titular breed through humour, much of it painfully ironic. And Boyko’s humour is inseparable from pain ... a highly amusing riposte to the culture of literary awards, eviscerating the petty politicking, log-rolling and absurdity that can result from jockeying for recognition."—The National Post
"Mirthful, sly and intermittently caustic."—The Vancouver Sun
"Rich, funny ... widely admired."—The Georgia Straight
C.P. Boyko (Blackouts, 2009) has been nominated for the Journey Prize and published in The Walrus, PRISM International, and The New Quarterly. Psychology and Other Stories, his second collection, was shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize in 2013. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Boyko received degrees in English and Psychology from the University of Calgary. He lives in Victoria.
Malcolm Gawfler in "The Word 'Genius'"
June Cottan in "Sympathetic"
Patrick Gurchase in "Paddy Gercheszky"
Laurel Peggery and Lionel Pugg in "The Door in the Wall"
Lance Chitdin and Maury Masterson in "The Hunting Party"
Katherine Sutledge in "The Language Barrier"
Madison Sprague and Terence Loach in "The Undergoing"
Christin Shane, Clint Lewes, Max Ür, Ilse Mienemin, Buchanan Dewan, Tiffany Pram, Guntur Kunthi Kesukaan, Lun Li Tseng, Hiroki Yomo, Ndatti Mbalu, Blanquita Reverberone de Calle,Konstantina Kurgev, István Bakic, and Brownhoffer in "The Prize Jury"