Alarming - edgy, often disturbing, and superbly written - these short stories illuminate the dark, troubled heart of human existence.
A young girl escapes the bonds of her abusive adopted mother. A woman does not leave her rotting apartment for over a month. A widower passes through his wife's garden for the first time. A cosmetician slowly destroys her family. Dark and compelling,
Drying the Bones deftly explores the emotional lives of its characters with electrifying concision.
These stories need not rely on a trend or a label for their success: startling and cleverly crafted, they distinguish Sonik as one of Canada's finest up-and-coming writers in any category. She brandishes a unique ability to handle a surprisingly broad range of characters and settings, all with the same power to send shivers up your spine.
"Full of mystery and surprise, this debut collection distinguishes Madeline Sonik as one of Canada's most versatile and imaginative up-and-coming writers." -Susan Musgrave
"It is Sonik's firm grounding of stories in a single image that distinguishes her from most other fiction writers . . . Sonik's stories assume a refreshing variety of tones. . . The detachment of the narrators is curiously uplifting, for the conflicts they face, while totally unresolved on a human level, are in fact subject to an aesthetic resolution through the humour employed... I would highly recommend Sonik to readers of fiction - and surely that recommendation must have something to do with originality. . . so polished that I feel as though I were looking through clear glass into a world more real than my own."
-John Fell, The Antigonish Review
