“The tales here mix whimsy, weirdness, lust, and Canadian politics, bringing to mind George Saunders and the slackers from Wayne’s World.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Hello, Horse is wildly original and filled with astonishing moments. A wonderful collection that resonates long after reading.”
—Don Gillmor, author of Breaking and Entering
“Hello, Horse is beguiling and wondrous, with talking dogs and nuns at the end of the world, images that linger with strange pleasure; Richard Kelly Kemick is a stellar wordsmith.”
—Mark Anthony Jarman, author of Burn Man
A teenager’s job mucking stalls at a dog track takes a strange turn when his co-worker finds a new religion at odds with winning streaks. Two brothers set out in search of fame upon the frozen waters of a subarctic lake. After her mother’s death, a high school student tries to make rent by winning the Unitarian Church’s Annual Young Writer’s Short Story Competition. An incarcerated man considers the nature of justice between shifts with his fellow inmates at Nations at War, the ultimate live-action experience for tourists eager to learn about the Canadian Civil War.
Spanning states and provinces, and featuring an apocalypse, a coterie of ghosts, nuns on ice, and an above-average number of dogs, Hello, Horse considers the mirage of authenticity and the impact of decisions we make—for better and for worse.
Online
- “Perfection” in Numero Cinq.
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