Play the Monster Blind

by Lynn Coady

An exhilarating collection of short fiction, Play the Monster Blind showcases the remarkably original voice of Lynn Coady, the award-winning author of Strange Heaven. Funny, poignant and smart, full of unforgettable characters, these stories explore the violence of family, the constraints of small-town life and the elusive promise of escape.

In "Ice Cream Man," an adolescent girl struggles to come to terms with her mother's death and her father's seeming indifference while conducting a secret affair with an older man from the local arena. Gerald, the young boy in "Big Dog Rage," goes to extreme and reckless measures to thwart the expectations of his parents, teachers, and the local priest, leaving his childhood friend to look longingly on. And in the title story, Bethany sees her gentle fiancé anew as she enters the raucous world of his hard-drinking family. Receiving a sharp shot to the mouth from her future sister-in-law Bethany finds her place in this clan secured.

With her incisive, resonant prose, Lynn Coady elicits laughter, sadness, and compassion. Play the Monster Blind is a keenly observed, imaginative collection from one of the most distinctive talents to arrive on Canada's literary scene in years.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Canada, Literary Fiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Lynn Coady is an award-winning author, editor, and journalist. Her previous novels include Saints of Big Harbour, which was a national bestseller and a Globe and Mail Top 100 book, and Mean Boy, a Globe and Mail Top 100 book. Her popular advice column, Group Therapy, runs weekly in the Globe and Mail. Coady is originally from Cape Breton Island, NS, and is now living in Edmonton, Alberta.

Reviews

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Magdelanye · Rating 3 out of 5]

With one longish story left to read, this book disappeared into the chaos of moving.
I have a hope to uncover it yet somewhere in this very cabin, but the fact is, the stories that I did read-all but the last one-were unsettling with not much of that arch humour that self-awareness can provoke and that I so enjoyed in her other books.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories in this collection make for a wonderful examination of the irritating & the uncouth, the unpolished & the perplexed. A world full of idiosyncratic people, all trying to function in a world that seems to be changing too fast for their tastes. It delights in sucking in the reader into a vortex of so many different lives, yet leaves behind consistent feelings of ambiguity and uncertainty in its wake. Not at all what I was expecting...and I'm all the better for it.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. Read this years ago, but wanted to re-read for Canada Reads Indie.

I like the grittiness of this collection and the portrayal of the harshness of Maritime life. Coady really excels and including the details of life and circumstances and her use of language is fantastic.


Loved the many uses of the word "Jesus", and "arse."

[Bryan Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the stories in this collection. They are loosely connected (weird, but the last 4 short story books I've read have been like this), and deal with simple people living simple lives in sometimes nameless Canadian towns. Although not a whole lot happens in any of them, the dialogue is tight, the characters are three-dimensional, and there's a certain achievement in writing a story without a big payoff that still keeps you involved and intrigued. Coady is a solid writer.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked these stories, excellent use of Nova Scotia vernacular and humour. I can see Lynn Coady finding her voice in this collection, noting that the themes and cohesion of her narratives improve in her subsequent work.

[Ian Carpenter · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing's rock solid... it just didn't grab me. I felt a distance throughout it. Clearly, just not for me.

[Adam McPhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've now read all of Lynn Coady's books, and I wanted to rank them and organize them into a strict hierarchy, but I don't think I can except to say that I think this one is my favourite, and Hellgoing is my least favourite, but I can't say why. Also I think I liked Mean Boy and The Antagonist more than Saints of Big Harbour and Strange Heaven, but those second two have stuck in my mind more, so I'm not even sure about that.

[Buried In Print]

This review was deleted following Amazon's purchase of GoodReads.

The review can still be viewed via LibraryThing, where my profile can be found here.

I'm also in the process of building a database at Booklikes, where I can be found here.

If you read/liked/clicked through to see this review here on GR, many thanks.

[Becka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love Lynn Coady, and this collection of short stories was a really fantastic way to get your fill of her fantastic dialogue and Canadian slang. Her characters are so easy to love and find yourself in, especially those of us who have had the pleasure of growing up in a small town or community.

Brilliant!

[Melissa Somerton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories. (see review of strange heaven).

[Kevin Gallan · Rating 5 out of 5]

every story is wonderful

[Lindsey Pollard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't get over how brilliant the conversations are in these stories.

[Zhou Yi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'M READY

[Daphne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great as ever.

[Michele Iwanus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never been much of a lover of short stories, but found this collection to be endearing and thought provoking. I will read this again some time.

[Nicki Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love short stories and i love canadians. perfect combo for me.