Anecdotes
Stories Book*hug Press, 2023 Press Coverage
"I highly recommend Anecdotes by Kathryn Mockler, a hybrid collection arranged in four parts. Particularly gripping is Mockler’s deep dive into autofiction, stories that span childhood to adulthood and those emotionally charged moments—first love, first crush, first period and more—that inform our growing identity and show us what it means to belong. In powerful, distilled prose, Mockler seamlessly blends dark humour with pain. Add in absurdist flash fiction, climate anxiety, micro-conversations—this is a book with existential bite." —Catherine Graham, The Ampersand Review "While Anecdotes is certainly not encouraging subject-wise, the clarity and wit of the prose make it hard to put this book down. Mockler strips out the fluff and gets to the real heart of issues, whether they are individual or global." —Candice Fertile, The British Columbia Review "Mockler has published four books of poetry, edited an anthology of climate stories, runs a literary newsletter and publishes a website. All to say, her writing range is wide, as exemplified in this new volume. Written in four parts with pieces — short stories, flash fiction, fictional conversations — that examine sexual violence, abuse and environmental collapse." —Deborah Dundas,Toronto Star "This dark and profoundly relatable satire ... masterfully balances existentialism and humility. It is a quick, thought-provoking read divided into four distinct parts, with each section intertwining common themes that delve into the stark realities of girlhood, the consequences of a forced transition into adulthood and the perilous state of our world amidst the climate crisis. Mockler’s characters and personifications of time ponder the possibility of ‘things getting better’ – posed not merely as a question but a genuine source of encouragement." Reframing Rage (climate & other) with Kathryn Mockler, Reframeables Podcast Q&A with Kathryn Mockler, Girls to the Front 55 Books by past CBC Literary Prizes winners and finalists that came out in 2023, CBC Michael Bryson on Anecdotes, Art / Life A 'deliciously dark and clever experiment' by Candace Fertile, The British Columbia Review An Interview with Kathryn Mockler, author of Anecdotes, All Lit Up Power Q&A with Kathryn Mockler, River Street Writing Books of the Month: September Edition, Vol. 1 Brooklyn Our books Editor on the 30 (plus!) new reads we can't wait to cosy up with this fall, Toronto Star What to Read this Summer, Frieze Most Anticipated: Our 2023 Fall Fiction Preview, 49th Shelf 24 Books by Past CBC Poetry Prize Winners and Finalists Being Published in 2023, CBC Books What We’re Reading: Staff Writers’ Picks, Spring 2023, Hamilton Review of the Books Where to get anecdotes?You can order directly from Book*hug Press or consider supporting your favourite independent bookstore.
Here are some of my favourite bookstores: Another Story Bookshop (Toronto) Flying Books (Toronto) Glass Bookshop (Edmonton) Librairie Drawn & Quarterly (Montreal) Librairie Saint Henri (Montreal) Librarie l’Euguélionne (Montreal) Massey Books (Vancouver) Munro's Books (Victoria) Novel Idea Bookstore (Kingston) Type Books (Toronto) Or you can put in a request for the book at your local library! Read my post in Send My Love to Anyone about why pre-orders are important. |
What readers are saying"Oh dear, you're pretty sad." Anecdotes (hybrid poetry/short fiction/autofiction/don’t overthink it) by Kathryn Mockler published by Book*Hug Press, 2023. "This book is pure genius. Most of the work deals with the intersection between the climate crisis, power, and patriarchy, which is dry in a précis but so damn funny in the hands of @themockler. Her strategies are varied and clever. Some stories are auto-fiction, while some read like short, deadpan jokes. One section is a collection of allegories or micro stories about The Past and The Future (with some guest appearances from The Present), who have a Laurel-and-Hardy type struggle getting along. Or maybe it's Bert and Ernie, where The Future is hopelessly cursed by the unthinking nonchalance of The Past's bad decisions. This is also a great book for studying a master of hybrid forms. And voice! If you want to learn about irony and tone, study this. (All of which means you can see Mockler being less interested in honouring a particular form or genre, and more in lifting up tone and messaging. It's undoing the genres of the past in service to help us hear better.) "You know those authors you can always count on? Authors whose books you know you are going to love before they ever enter your home? Kathryn Mockler is one of those authors for me. What fabulousness this book is. Go read it if you like. I LOVED it." "Mockler bravely looks into the void and reports what she sees. Again, Beckett comes to mind. Be honest. Be brave. Carry on." "Just finished @themockler's brilliant new collection of stories. Dark twisty tales which might seem cyncial on first glance but really are deeply compassionate and empowering. I love how formally inventive they are. A range of forms and lots of surprising turns. Also, they implicitly illustratrate how life isn't a series of story arcs, epiphanies and "life lessons" but rather an accumulation of experiences which sum together over the span to make our life what it is. Five out of five thumbs up." "Anecdotes, by Kathryn Mockler, made me think about the environment in new ways, and it has a playful, anything-goes approach to fiction that I found refreshing." "Kathryn Mockler’s ‘Anecdotes’—about as inventive, playful and provocative a collection of short fiction as you’ll find. Published by that reliably boundary-pushing Canadian small press Book*hug." "Tonally, the works collected here range from absurdist to tragic, offering a memorable selection of one writer’s haunting, searing prose.” "The darkness is then met with the understated. Absurd and satirical, while also poignant. And I’m here for all of it!" "While it's clear Mockler had fun with some of the content, it's also humbling and reflective of today's laissez-faire attitude around politics and climate change, and stingingly honest about some of the dangers we face as young women in a world that is still very much a man's space." "ANECDOTES by @themockler is a great reminder that experience combined with talent and imagination is what makes a great reading experience!" |
Advanced praise
"Anecdotes is so wry and funny. The stories are wicked little things. So hopeless in content, yet the humour is a kind of tonal hope.".
—Michael V. Smith, author of Queers Like Me
"Part coming of age and part end times, Anecdotes is a bold and brilliant mixture of dark humour, understated literary experiments, and a poet's eye for the truth. Mockler’s writing isn't afraid to look at the world and see it for what it is. Her stories are so deeply immersive you’ll never want to leave. An absolute must-read if you live on this planet and even if you don’t."
—Carleigh Baker, author of Last Woman, Mudlarkers, and Bad Endings
Utterly original, bracingly acidic, and always vulnerable, Kathryn Mockler channels Donald Barthelme having a psychotic break in this magnificent collection of coming-of-age stories for late stage capitalism.
—Emily Schultz, author of The Blondes and Sleeping With Friends
“WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?” Terrible things do happen. Daily. From the opening story of a dead boy nobody loved, to anxiety-ridden days of overcrowded public buses and murderous job interviews, to birds dropping from the sky, to no one needing money anymore (or a stolen laptop) because the world is ending today and everyone still thinks it’s happening to someone else while it’s happening to them. Is it too late? Of course it is! “What do they need?” Don’t ask Pastor Rick. Like you, dear reader. “They need to hold on real tight.”
MOCKLER’S ANECDOTES IS AN INSTANT ‘POST HOPE’ CLASSIC!
—Kirby, author of Poetry is Queer
About aneCDotes
With dreamlike stories and dark humour, Anecdotes is a hybrid collection in four parts examining the pressing realities of sexual violence, abuse, and environmental collapse.
Absurdist flash fictions in “The Boy is Dead” depict characters such as a park that hates hippies, squirrels, and unhappy parents; a woman lamenting a stolen laptop the day the world ends; and birds slamming into glass buildings.
“We’re Not Here to Talk About Aliens” gathers autofictions that follow a young protagonist from childhood to early 20s, through the murky undercurrent of potential violence amidst sexual awakening; from first periods to flashers; sticker books to maxi pad art; acid trips to blackouts; creepy professors to close calls.
“This Isn’t a Conversation” shares one-liners from overheard conversations, found texts, diary entries and random thoughts: many are responses to the absurdity and pain of the current political and environmental climate.
In “The Dream House,” The Past and The Future are personified as various incarnations in relationships to one another (lovers, a parent and child, siblings, friends), all engaged in ongoing conflict.
These varied, immersive works bristle with truth in the face of unprecedented change. They are playful forms for serious times.
Absurdist flash fictions in “The Boy is Dead” depict characters such as a park that hates hippies, squirrels, and unhappy parents; a woman lamenting a stolen laptop the day the world ends; and birds slamming into glass buildings.
“We’re Not Here to Talk About Aliens” gathers autofictions that follow a young protagonist from childhood to early 20s, through the murky undercurrent of potential violence amidst sexual awakening; from first periods to flashers; sticker books to maxi pad art; acid trips to blackouts; creepy professors to close calls.
“This Isn’t a Conversation” shares one-liners from overheard conversations, found texts, diary entries and random thoughts: many are responses to the absurdity and pain of the current political and environmental climate.
In “The Dream House,” The Past and The Future are personified as various incarnations in relationships to one another (lovers, a parent and child, siblings, friends), all engaged in ongoing conflict.
These varied, immersive works bristle with truth in the face of unprecedented change. They are playful forms for serious times.