Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club

The epigraph reads “This might hurt a little - be brave.”
Lord thunderin' Jesus there is dark stuff ahead rendered in some of the most compelling prose I've read from this year's Giller shortlist. Jaw-dropping at times. It's Valentines Day at the Hazel in downtown St. John's Newfoundland and no one is getting out unscathed. It's a bleak #MeToo novel, examining toxic masculinity, an enabling culture, and little in the way of a clear or even hopeful path through.

Megan Gail Coles is unflinching, completely merciless, and sentiment free in her writing. I found the start disjointed and unfamiliar but it came sharply into focus like a roadside accident you can't look away from. You're compelled yet can't help but feel horrifyingly voyeuristic and implicated by your gaze. I can't wait to see what she's got in store next.