Walking on Water at Cormorant Books

Walking on Water

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Synopsis

Walking on Water, the latest short story collection from award-winning author Jancis M. Andrews, searches for the intimate moments of life that reveal the fantastic amongst the mundane. Andrews explores the jutting coasts and heaving mountains of British Columbia, crawls through the communities of poor Vancouverites, and brings to life characters fully imagined with tender care and aplomb. In each story, characters face a turning point in which they are forced to succumb to the suffocating crush, or rise above and walk away.

The opening tale, "Big Girl", is the story of Betsy, a pubescent teen growing up in the socially stifling 1950s. Barraged by conflicting ideals and virtues from her stringent mother and her voluptuous Marilyn Monroe look-a-like aunt, Betsy comes to understand the price a sexually mature woman sometimes has to pay.

In "Balancing", a destitute mother of two and abused wife must deal with her inner demons to find a constructive release for the fear and frustration she faces daily at home.

And in the chilling, autobiographical "Country of Evil", Andrews leads the reader through a chaotic night during the London Blitz to question the origin of evil, and if it can be contained within any set borders.

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Reviews

"She is a champion of women, and these stories will appeal to any woman's fighting spirit."
— Coast Reporter

"Andrews' collection is characterized by clean, workmanlike prose and a strong affinity for the challenges of working-class life."
— Quill and Quire

"[Andrews] is a careful, invested writer who has produced a collection of stories that reminds us that we are all stuck together on this crazy thing called humanity."
— EVENT Magazine

"Jancis M. Andrews can still hit the high notes in fiction. But the strength of 'Country of Evil' makes the reader wonder if perhaps more autobiographical works are meant to follow."
— BC Bookworld