God Isn't Here Today
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Invisible Publishing
Published:23rd Jun '22
Should be back in stock very soon
WINNER OF THE 2023 RELIT AWARD FOR SHORT FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 INDIGENOUS VOICES AWARDS
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 CAROL SHIELDS PRIZE
For fans of Chuck Palahniuk, Joyce Carol Oates, and Karen Russell, the stories in Francine Cunningham’s debut collection God Isn’t Here Today ricochet between form and genre, taking readers on a dark, irreverent, yet poignant journey led by a unique and powerful new voice.
Driven by desperation into moments of transformation, Cunningham’s characters are presented with moments of choice—some for the better and some for the worse. A young man goes to God’s office downtown for advice; a woman discovers she is the last human on Earth; an ice cream vendor is driven insane by his truck’s song; an ageing stripper uses undergarments to enact her escape plan; an incubus tires of his professional grind; and a young woman inherits a power that has survived genocide, but comes with a burden of its own.
Even as they flirt with the fantastic, Cunningham’s stories unfold with the innate elegance of a spring fern, reminding us of the inherent dualities in human nature—and that redemption can arise where we least expect it.
Praise for God Isn't Here Today:
"Cunningham's characters find light in darkness, music in silence, and moments of transformation when they least expect it."—The Quarantine Review
"This is a fierce collection: fiercely smart, fiercely funny, fiercely inventive. Francine Cunningham takes the reader from strip clubs to God’s waiting room, from a tormented ice cream truck driver to a bored ghost with career aspirations. This collection almost reads like a novel, as the characters move in and out of each other’s stories—sometimes solo, sometimes in chorus—spilling out their tormented, glorious, messy lives to the lucky, greedy reader."—Annabel Lyon, author of Consent
"Cunningham is uniquely funny even through homophobia, whorephobia, death and aching loneliness... Opening this collection feels like stepping into a lively discussion between friends you’ve known since kindergarten when someone is already mid-rant, in a good way.”—Sarah Ratchford, Maisonneuve
"The stories in God Isn’t Here Today reveal Francine Cunningham as a gimlet eye observer of humanity, with boundless empathy and a searing sense of humour. The prose is intimate and direct, like an honest best friend breathlessly telling all, while embarking on formal experimentation that guides the reader through the grand possibilities of fiction."—Doretta Lau, author of How Does a Single Blade of Grass Thank the Sun?
"'Pornorama,' 'Spectre Sex,' 'Mickey’s Bar': these Francine Cunningham stories pop and pull my heart out. In her first collection, God Isn’t Here Today, the Goddess is most definitely here. An essential new voice."—Linda Svendsen, author of Sussex Drive: a novel
"God Isn't Here Today is a collection, I feel, that is whispered in the calligraphy of ghosts. Cunningham continues to both astound and haunt all who discover her. Wow!"—Richard Van Camp, author of The Lesser Blessed
Praise for Francine Cunningham:
"A humorous and compelling piece on the art of conviction and manipulation, both binaries were excused in two different voices that belonged to the same person. The voice of the unconvinced guru as he succeeds in amassing a following was simultaneously profound in its social commentary and comedic in its doubts."—Rawi Hage, author of De Niro's Game and Beirut Hellfire Society on the story "Starting a Religion"
"Reading Francine Cunningham’s 'Complex 2675' reminded me of Twin Peaks: dark and surreal, with high emotional stakes edging on satire, and intense visuals... I recommend reading it with the slow pacing those old nineties TV shows had, and a sense of weird foreboding."—Carleigh Baker, author of Bad Endings
ISBN: 9781988784908
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
272 pages