Animal

In a style reminiscent of Raymond Carver, the stories contained in ''Animal'' depict people on the brink of major life change. They stand at crossroads they are often oblivious to; they suck thick air in rooms filled with palpable tension. Leggat''s characters often seem captured in a cinematic slo-mo, teetering on the edge of something unknown, heroically resisting the ever-present pull of Fate. It matters little whether the characters take action or refuse to act; life acts for them. The reader is left to wonder: when does "meaning" cease to have meaning? Like travelling a mountain highway at night, what''s just around the next bend is never known. The stories in ''Animal'' never fail to deliver potent surprises. "I''m tempted to say it''s a slim, distilled masterpiece." Michael Bryson, Underground Book Club "These quickly unfolding stories are elliptically drawn, tense with action and dark humour. Leggat is a shape-shifting writer" The Globe and Mail "This immensely rewarding collection is worth picking up" eye weekly Finalist for the Trillium Book Award