Cascade, Craig Davidson
Cascade, Craig Davidson
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Cascade

Author: Craig Davidson

Narrator: Ishan Davé, Stephanie Belding, Steve Byers, Anand Rajaram, Timothy Carlson

Unabridged: 6 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Vintage Canada

Published: 10/26/2021

Synopsis

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 TRILLIUM BOOK AWARDS
 
Reminiscent of Stephen King's brilliantly cinematic short stories that went on to inspire films such as The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, here's a collection crackling with Craig Davidson's superb craft and kinetic energy: in the visceral, crystalline, steel-tipped prose; in the psychological perspicacity; and in the endearing humour.

Set in in the Niagara Falls of Davidson's imagination known as "Cataract City," the superb stories of Cascade shine a shimmering light on this slightly seedy, slightly magical, slightly haunted place. The six gems in this collection each illuminate familial relationships in a singular way. A mother and her infant son fight to survive a car-crash in a remote wintry landscape outside of town. Fraternal twins at a juvenile detention center reach a dangerous crisis point in their entwined lives. A pregnant social worker grapples with the prospect of parenthood as a custody case takes a dire turn. A hard-boiled ex-firefighter goes after a serial arsonist with a flair for the theatrical even as his own troubled sister is drawn towards the flames. These are just some of the unforgettable characters animating this stellar collection of tales--Davidson's first in 15 years, since Rust and Bone, which inspired the Golden Globe-nominated film.

About The Author

CRAIG DAVIDSON was born and grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario, near Niagara Falls. He has published five previous books of literary fiction, including Rust and Bone, which was the inspiration for a Golden Globe-nominated feature film of the same name; the Scotiabank Giller Prize-nominated novel Cataract City; and the Writers' Trust Fiction Prize finalist The Saturday Night Ghost Club. His bestselling memoir, Precious Cargo, about his year spent driving a school bus for children with special needs, was a finalist for Canada Reads. Davidson lives in Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sadie

Review originally published in the October/November 2020 issue of Rue Morgue .. It’s been fifteen years since Craig Davidson blessed readers with his short story collection Rust and Bone, but who’s counting? The answer is Davidson’s fanbase. We’re counting. We know that whatever stories Davidson decide......more

Goodreads review by Krista

How's that jumper shot of yours? Still silky? I'm coaching the Cascades. Up in Niagara Falls? Scrappy unit. Couple of intriguing kids. I'm not a dedicated consumer of short stories, but when I read one that fires up a certain frisson in my brain – a sudden connection to my lived experience that m......more

Goodreads review by Brandon

Cascade is a collection of six short stories from author Craig Davidson. I received an advanced copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Craig Davidson’s 2014 novel, Cataract City, is not only my favorite novel of his, but one of my favorites in general. When I saw that Craig was goin......more

Goodreads review by Darryl

Bloody fantastic. I loved all six stories. Davidson has this addictive kind of rhythm that makes it easy to fly through his stories. Refreshing stories, compelling characters, and provocative imagery. Every story provided me with at least one image that unsettled me. These are intense, sad, and visc......more

Quotes

PRAISE FOR CASCADE

"A brilliant collection. Davidson's prose is very sharp but never only sharp; it is alive, it is limpid, it is darkly funny and it never hides or shies from love. . . . Read this collection now." —Amy Bloom, author of White Houses

“Cascade is the rare collection in which there is not a single false note. In these six harrowing stories, Craig Davidson illuminates the hidden corners of Niagara Falls, and the private mysteries and griefs of his characters, with kinetic urgency and gritty compassion. Cascade is a sweeping and remarkable work of art.” —Lauren van den Berg, author of The Third Hotel

“Davidson’s stories retain their immediacy and gut-level emotion while also allowing for a lyricism in the writing that elevates the subject matter. . . . The point is in the small moments, the careful attention to detail and emotional resonance that Davidson is so good at in his short stories.”  —Toronto Star

“Reading Davidson is a visceral experience: the language fractures and insinuates, sentences fragmenting and distorting as they reflect the movements of both the narratives and their characters.” —Quill & Quire


PRAISE FOR CRAIG DAVIDSON

“Craig Davidson is one of this country’s great kinetic writers.” —The Globe and Mail

“What’s so fascinating about Davidson’s fiction is its ambivalence: he’s simultaneously satirizing and celebrating outsized manliness. He creates a safe space to interrogate masculinity on masculine terms—his books are boys’ clubs, where protagonists play at being men in order to understand just what it might mean to be one. Set aside the jacked-up gore and fantastical scenarios, and Davidson’s art becomes an imitation of life.” —Emily Keeler, Toronto Life

“Viscerally exciting and deeply thoughtful . . . powerfully written and satisfies at every level.” —Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize on The Saturday Night Ghost Club

“An examination, like most good literature is, of how we live our lives.” —Toronto Star on The Saturday Night Ghost Club

Awards

  • Trillium Book Award
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