The small town is a haven in an unruly world. There is much reassurance in the familiar. Shirley at the post office knows everybody’s name. Bingo is every Wednesday night at the Legion. The community pulls together unquestioningly for funerals, fires and parades. A small town sets the parameters for personal successes and takes the blame for failures.
Hot Town and other stories is a book about people who exchange their high expectations for belonging. Small town people are loyal and resilient, with histories steeped in both tradition and subversion. They tolerate disappointment well, while a betrayal is never forgotten. Memory is the foundation of the small town, accurate or not. And memory runs deep, deeper than the abandoned gravel pit north of the tracks.
Shortlisted.
– Manitoba Book Award - Manuela Dias Award for best book design
“Janet Trull is a smart, perceptive new storytelling voice . . . [with] a keen eye for human nature and a soft spot for human weakness.”
– Toronto Star
“Janet Trull knows her terrain – emotional, social, and physical – and holds the reader close for a wild ride.”
– Terry Fallis, author, The Best Laid Plans
“Vibrant and humanizing . . . a fearless first collection.”
– Van Kunder, author, The Woman I Can’t See
“Like Alice Munro, Trull writes about people you have known all your life.”
– Brad Smith, author, Crow’s Landing
“Trull’s stories are poignant, concise and contain an essence that is reminiscent of an Alice Munro telling. Her debut book is well worth the read. I for one, look forward to future writings from this author.”
– Mary Barnes, Prairie Fire
Annotated correspondence between Mother Goose and her cohorts in Britain.
Captures the power that secrets and lies have in both the creation and destruction of the lives we build.
