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My Life Among the Apes

Cary Fagan

Imprint: Cormorant Books | ISBN 9781770860872 | eISBN 9781770861060 | 5.25" x 8" | TP w/ flaps | $22

Cary Fagan began his literary career writing short stories, and now, after five novels, he returns to his first love with this much praised collection (a Giller Prize longlist nominee).

• A woman leaves her husband, a retired judge, when he refuses to give up his passion for performing as a magician (“The Floating Wife”).

• A young man exiled from the downtown arts scene finds himself living in the suburbs in a community of new immigrants (“Shit Box”).

• A widow moves to New York to confront the woman who was her late husband's mistress (“The Brooklyn Revenge”).

• A bank manager in a bad situation turns to his childhood obsession with Jane Goodall for inspiration (“My Life Among the Apes”).

Longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize

An Amazon.ca Best 100 Books of 2012

“The volume's ten stories are, without exception, splendid yarns, told with the practised ease of a natural storyteller.” — Quill & Quire (Starred review)

“The pacing is agreeably swift, the dialogue natural, the narrative has a strong basis in conflict and suspense, the fate of the characters compels interest ... a reminder of what the sinews of short fiction are all about.” — Philip Marchand, Toronto Star

“One of the lovely aspects of the stories in My Life Among the Apes is the manner in which Fagan brings Toronto into view.” — Canadian Jewish News