I Heart Joey - a Softer World - Also, I read the book and it's really good
A review from the Halifax Daily News:
by
STEPHEN CLARE
It's too late to say I'm sorry
Joey Comeau
Loose Teeth Books. 168 pages. $12.95.
On first read, Joey Comeau comes across as a wise-cracking, street-smart punk - a quirky, 20-something melange of Gary Larsen, Joe Strummer and Charles Bukowski. However, a deeper look into his latest anthology of fiction, It's Too Late to Say I'm Sorry, reveals a unique artist in touch with a wealth of ideas and emotions.
"It's a collection of stories, each inspired by something different, though the book does have a few governing themes. Optimism is one, and obsession is another," he says.
The Haligonian author and cartoonist says the rewards of piecing together his newest work were numerous. "A collection of stories is gratifying because it feels like a body of work and like a single work at once. It is unified in tone. That is certainly rewarding. But the most rewarding part of the experience is probably all the kissing. While I was writing this collection I learned how to french kiss. Authors get laid all the time."
His carnal desires, he admits, are a spin-off rather than a driving force of his vocation. "There are a couple of answers to why I chose to be a writer, both silly and both true. First, writers don't answer to anybody. They do what they want, and they don't have to wake up early.
"Second, writers live forever without actually having to live forever. I'm not looking forward to death, of course, but I'm sure it will be a relief to just stop. My ideas and obsessions and secrets will stay behind, but I won't have to make chit chat for eternity. It's a perfect balance."
Comeau's perspective on literature is also a little different.
"A good book is a book that hits you hard, I think. One that leaves you thinking about it when you're not reading it. A good book is a book that makes you think about the world, and not just the book itself. A good book also tends to have lots of filthy sex and swear words. A good book weighs about a pound. A good book will call you on a Sunday afternoon just to say hello. How have you been? I was just having a beer and thinking about you."
by
STEPHEN CLARE
It's too late to say I'm sorry
Joey Comeau
Loose Teeth Books. 168 pages. $12.95.
On first read, Joey Comeau comes across as a wise-cracking, street-smart punk - a quirky, 20-something melange of Gary Larsen, Joe Strummer and Charles Bukowski. However, a deeper look into his latest anthology of fiction, It's Too Late to Say I'm Sorry, reveals a unique artist in touch with a wealth of ideas and emotions.
"It's a collection of stories, each inspired by something different, though the book does have a few governing themes. Optimism is one, and obsession is another," he says.
The Haligonian author and cartoonist says the rewards of piecing together his newest work were numerous. "A collection of stories is gratifying because it feels like a body of work and like a single work at once. It is unified in tone. That is certainly rewarding. But the most rewarding part of the experience is probably all the kissing. While I was writing this collection I learned how to french kiss. Authors get laid all the time."
His carnal desires, he admits, are a spin-off rather than a driving force of his vocation. "There are a couple of answers to why I chose to be a writer, both silly and both true. First, writers don't answer to anybody. They do what they want, and they don't have to wake up early.
"Second, writers live forever without actually having to live forever. I'm not looking forward to death, of course, but I'm sure it will be a relief to just stop. My ideas and obsessions and secrets will stay behind, but I won't have to make chit chat for eternity. It's a perfect balance."
Comeau's perspective on literature is also a little different.
"A good book is a book that hits you hard, I think. One that leaves you thinking about it when you're not reading it. A good book is a book that makes you think about the world, and not just the book itself. A good book also tends to have lots of filthy sex and swear words. A good book weighs about a pound. A good book will call you on a Sunday afternoon just to say hello. How have you been? I was just having a beer and thinking about you."