A review by caseythecanadianlesbrarian
Play the Monster Blind by Lynn Coady

4.0

I bought this book used about 5 years ago after loving Coady's more recent short story collection Hellgoing. I finally picked it up yesterday in an effort to read the books I already own! I didn't love this one quite as much (there's less dark humour here than I remember in Hellgoing which is one of the things I loved so much about it) but it is an excellent book, full of wise hard truths and authentic east coast working class life details. There are occasional bursts of striking insight into those every day but profound life experiences. I also REALLY connected with a story about an ESL teacher in Vancouver, as I used to do that job in that city as well. And it made me miss the east coast.