The Butcher of Penetang

By Betsy Trumpener

Shortlisted for the Relit Award for Fiction

Finalist for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award for short fiction

Betsy Trumpener's raw fiction hits quickly, cuts deeply and lingers on in the imagination. Her urgent, unique voice pushes fiction north of what's real. The Butcher of Penetang carves up rare slices of savory stories that are both tough and delicious. A child missing in a dangerous part of town; a draft dodger with bloody hands; a robber armed with a hairbrush; a refugee who rescues poetry from his prison cell; moose hunters chasing snow flakes. The people in these edgy stories cut cocaine into comfort food, push sex into the snow and chase speeding ambulances in the dead of winter. Trumpener's debut collection is aching, funny, powerful and sharp.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1894759303
• ISBN13: 9781894759304
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Caitlin Press
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Edgy, yet human and moving

The real world doesn't wear kid gloves. "The Butcher of Penetang" is no-holds barred short fiction from Betsy Trumpener. Her stories draw realistic, if brutal pictures of society, ranging from the tragic of a child lost in a bad part of town, to a robber whose weapon of choice is something found in most women's purses. Edgy, yet human and moving, "The Butcher of Penetang" is an enthralling collection of short fiction, highly recommended.