New Releases by Craig Davidson

From the best-selling author of The Saturday Night Ghost Club comes this collection of seven brilliantly cinematic short stories. Set in the Niagara Falls of Craig Davidson’s imagination—known as "Cataract City"—the superb stories of Cascade shine a shimmering light on this slightly seedy, slightly magical, slightly haunted place. The six gems in this collection each illuminate familial relationships in a singular way: A mother and her infant son fight to survive a car crash in a remote wintry landscape outside of town. Fraternal twins at a juvenile detention center reach a dangerous crisis point in their entwined lives. A pregnant social worker grapples with the prospect of parenthood as a custody case takes a dire turn. A hardboiled ex-firefighter goes after a serial arsonist with a flair for the theatrical even as his own troubled sister is drawn toward the flames. These are just some of the unforgettable characters animating this stellar collection that crackles with Davidson’s superb craft and kinetic energy: in the steel-tipped prose, in the psychological perspicacity, and in the endearing humor.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER For readers of Kristine Barnett''s The Spark, Andrew Solomon''s Far From the Tree and Ian Brown''s The Boy in the Moon, here is a heartfelt, funny and surprising memoir about one year spent driving a bus full of children with special needs. With his last novel, Cataract City, Craig Davidson established himself as one of our most talented novelists. But before writing that novel and before his previous work, Rust and Bone, was made into a Golden Globe-nominated film, Davidson experienced a period of poverty, apparent failure and despair. In this new work of riveting and timely non-fiction, Davidson tells the unvarnished story of one transformative year in his life and of his unlikely relationships with a handful of unique and vibrant children who were, to his initial astonishment and bewilderment, and eventual delight, placed in his care for a couple of hours each day--the kids on school bus 3077. One morning in 2008, desperate and impoverished while trying unsuccessfully to write, Davidson plucked a flyer out of his mailbox that read, "Bus Drivers Wanted." That was the first step towards an unlikely new career: driving a school bus full of special-needs kids for a year. Armed only with a sense of humour akin to that of his charges, a creative approach to the challenge of driving a large, awkward vehicle while corralling a rowdy gang of kids, and unexpected reserves of empathy, Davidson takes us along for the ride. He shows us how his evolving relationship with the kids on that bus, each of them struggling physically as well as emotionally and socially, slowly but surely changed his life along with the lives of the "precious cargo" in his care. This is the extraordinary story of that year and those relationships. It is also a moving, important and universal story about how we see and treat people with special needs in our society.

« Craig Davidson brouille les frontières entre comédie et horreur, cruauté et compassion. Ne cherchez pas le réconfort dans ses livres : ils sont exigeants et profondément dérangeants. » (Chuck Palahniuk) Sarah Court est un morne lotissement au nord de Niagara Falls, Ontario. Cinq familles, cinq maisons dont les habitants semblent se fondre dans la grisaille du décor... jusqu’à ce que la plume de Craig Davidson en révèle toute l’étrangeté. Apparaissent alors un batelier chargé de repêcher les noyés au pied des célèbres chutes ; un cascadeur au corps brisé à force de chercher le danger ; un neurochirurgien alcoolique en disgrâce ; un boxeur raté et son fils obèse qui se rêve vampire ou momie ; une adepte du vol à l’étalage aux fantasmes de maternité, ou encore le fils orphelin d’une fumeuse de crack, devenu fabricant de feux d’artifice et criminel à ses heures... Connaît-on vraiment ses voisins ? Et sa propre famille ? Dans ce livre à la frontière des genres, l’auteur d’Un goût de rouille et d’os nous invite à une troublante exploration des âmes.

La 4eme de couverture indique : ""Craig Davidson brouille les frontières entre comédie et horreur, cruauté et compassion. Ne cherchez pas le réconfort dans ses livres : ils sont exigeants et profondément dérangeants". (Chuck Palahniuk) Sarah Court est un morne lotissement au nord de Niagara Falls, Ontario. Cinq familles, cinq maisons dont les habitants semblent se fondre dans la grisaille du décor... jusqu''à ce que la plume de Craig Davidson en révèle toute l''étrangeté. Apparaissent alors un batelier chargé de repêcher les noyés au pied des célèbres chutes ; un cascadeur au corps brisé à force de chercher le danger ; un neurochirurgien alcoolique en disgrâce ; un boxeur raté et son fils obèse qui se rêve vampire ou momie ; une adepte du vol à l''étalage aux fantasmes de maternité, ou encore le fils orphelin d''une fumeuse de crack, devenu fabricant de feux d''artifice et criminel à ses heures... Connaît-on vraiment ses voisins ? Et sa propre famille ? Dans ce livre à la frontière des genres, l''auteur d''Un goût de rouille et d''os nous invite à une troublante exploration des âmes.

SOME TOWNS ARE MORE HAUNTED THAN OTHERS... An irresistible and bittersweet coming-of-age story in the vein of Stranger Things and Stand by Me about a group of misfit kids who spend an unforgettable summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends "A celebration of the secret lives of children, both their wonders and their horrors . . . Immensely enjoyable, piercingly clever, and satisfyingly soulful." -Jason Heller, NPR Growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls - a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place - Jake Baker spends most of his time with his uncle Calvin, a kind but eccentric enthusiast of occult artifacts and conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turns twelve, he befriends a pair of siblings new to town, and so Calvin decides to initiate them all into the "Saturday Night Ghost Club." But as the summer goes on, what begins as a seemingly light-hearted project may ultimately uncover more than any of its members had imagined. With the alternating warmth and sadness of the best coming-of-age stories, The Saturday Night Ghost Club is a note-perfect novel that poignantly examines the haunting mutability of memory and storytelling, as well as the experiences that form the people we become, and establishes Craig Davidson as a remarkable literary talent.

It is often said that the greatest journeys begin with a single step. And in the case of a formerly great author, living in the fallen remains of Communist Russia, it is the discovery of a long-abandoned and partial manuscript, that starts a grand voyage, into life, death, and all things in-between. Zoyzuban, a science-fiction scribe, whose work benefited from the Soviet Union''s existence, was in search of an answer, to further his career, to return to the pinnacle of his previous glory. Upon finding early work from the Sixties, he decides to use his talent and accumulated experience, to revise and rebuild the novel he started long ago. Teaming up with a former Cosmonaut, one who walked the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, the two collaborate, and combine their talents and memories. A story is told, a world generated, and a journey in three parts begins...

1979, Herbert et Jess, frère et soeur abandonnés dans leur enfance par un père magicien, sont élevés par leur oncle. 25 ans plus tard, Herbert, le grand magicien déchu, ne sort plus de chez lui. Jess, policière, est suspendue suite à une affaire impliquant un coup de feu sur un enfant. Ils partent retrouver leur père. Cette nouvelle est extraite du livre le goût de rouille et d''os. Temps de lecture estimé : à partir de 1 heure.

Jonah Murtag is an Acolyte on the New Bethlehem police force. His job: eradicate all heretical religious faiths, their practitioners, and artefacts. Murtag''s got problems--one of his partners is a zealot, and he''s in love with the other one. Trouble at work, trouble at home. Murtag realizes that you can rob a citizenry of almost anything, but you can''t take away its faith. When a string of bombings paralyzes the city, religious fanatics are initially suspected, but startling clues point to a far more ominous perpetrator. If Murtag doesn''t get things sorted out, the Divine Council will dispatch The Quints, aka: Heaven''s Own Bagmen. The clock is ticking towards doomsday for the Chosen of New Bethlehem. And Jonah Murtag''s got another problem. The biggest and most worrisome . . . Jonah isn''t a believer anymore.

Après le succès d''Un goût de rouille et d''os, le jeune écrivain canadien ne dément pas sa réputation avec ce roman qui explore l''identité masculine contemporaine à travers le portrait sombre et mélancolique d''une certaine Amérique. Paul Harris mène une existence privilégiée, jusqu''au jour où une agression sauvage le pousse à apprendre à se défendre. Rob Tully est un jeune boxeur très doué, sur lequel son père et son oncle ont placé tous leurs espoirs. Trop, sans doute. Tandis que Paul devient obsédé par le culte de son corps et la violence qu''il découvre en lui, Rob tente d''être à la hauteur des attentes qui pèsent sur ses épaules. Aussi différents soient-ils, leurs chemins vont les mener en un lieu clandestin, sans règles ni limites, où des hommes sont prêts à tout donner d''eux-mêmes. Au risque de tout perdre. « Davidson brouille les frontières entre le drame et la comédie, la cruauté et la miséricorde. » Chuck Palahniuk. « L''écriture de Craig Davidson, aussi impitoyable qu''un uppercut, aussi cruelle et violente que peut l''être la vie, est rythmée comme un match. » Le Monde.

Le nouveau film de Jacques Audiard, adaptation de deux nouvelles de Craig Davidson, est sorti le 17 mai 2012 et fait partie de la sélection officielle du 65ème festival de Cannes, avec dans les rôles principaux : Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts (révélé dans le récent Bullhead), Céline Sallette et Bouli Lanners. Dans la lignée d''écrivains comme Chuck Palahniuk et Thom Jones, Craig Davidson aime prendre des risques. A la dureté de son univers, il allie l''émotion et la compassion qu''il manifeste envers ses personnages dont il sonde les corps, les âmes et les coeurs avec une redoutable efficacité. Son écriture, viscérale et percutante, s''empare littéralement du lecteur pour ne plus le lâcher. Ces formidables nouvelles sont les meilleures que j''ai lues depuis bien longtemps. Il y a là matière à une douzaine de romans... Croyez-moi, vous n''avez jamais rien lu de tel. Bret Easton Ellis

A searing novel about two friends on opposite sides of the law, from the author of Rust and Bone, "a writer of immense power" (Peter Straub) On the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, life beyond the tourist trade isn''t easy. Locals like Duncan Diggs and Owen Stuckey have few chances to leave. For Duncan, that means shift work on a production line. For Owen, it means pinning it all on a shot at college basketball. But they should know better; they''ve been unlucky before. As boys, they were abducted and abandoned in the woods. Though they made it out alive, the memory of that time won''t fade. Over the years they drift apart, but when Duncan is drawn into a chaotic world of bare-knuckle fighting and other shady dealings, Owen, now a cop, can''t look the other way any longer. Together, they''ll be forced to survive the wilderness once more as their friendship is pushed to the limit in Cataract City, a white-hot novel by the rising star Craig Davidson.

Told through a series of short, intensely personal stories focused on highlights of the author''s extensive travels and spiritual illuminations, this work invites all to take time to consider where we are in the world, what brought us here, and where we''re going. Weaving together Roman Catholic insights with other sources from the far corners of the world''s literary and theological heritage, the book describes how faith and reason finally meshed, enabling the author to formulate a coherent and fulfilling world view centered on Jesus Christ.

Con prosa quirúrgica, Craig Davidson construye un universo literario salvaje, poblado por perros que se destrozan en peleas organizadas, boxeadores comprados, adictos al sexo y jugadores empedernidos, entre muchos otros personajes perturbados que viven al margen de la sociedad. La primera historia, que da título al libro, describe la caída libre de la carrera de un boxeador hasta límites que tienen poco que ver con el deporte y mucho con la supervivencia: no hay árbitros, no hay reglas, no hay ni siquiera guantes. Pero la hostilidad de este universo de ficción está siempre matizada por la humanidad con la que el autor dota a sus personajes, y por su manera sutil y emocionante de contarnos los pequeños entresijos de sus pequeñas y miserables vidas. Muy en sintonía con Chuck Palahniuk, Craig Davidson muestra una particular y celebradísima habilidad para tratar los temas más complejos y oscuros del alma humana.

Paul Harris leads a sheltered life. The son of a wealthy southern Ontario winery owner, his suits and cars are paid for, his career in the family business assured. But after a vicious beating shakes his world, he descends into the realm of hardcore bodybuilders and boxing gyms, reveling in suffering and seeking to become a real man. Rob Tully, a working class teenager from upstate New York, is a born boxer. He trains with his father and uncle but struggles with the weight of their expectations. Their disparate paths lead to The Barn, an underground bare-knuckle fight venue where vicious and hopeless men brawl for cold hard cash.

In steel-tipped prose, Craig Davidson conjures up a bleak world populated by hardscrabble pugilists, fighting dogs, sex addicts, and others held captive by their own bad luck and bad decisions. Visceral and with a dark urgency, Rust and Bone is a strikingly original debut.

Acérée, viscérale, l''écriture de Craig Davidson nous entraîne dans un univers singulier et parfois violent celui des situations extrêmes, des paris perdus d''avance et des rêves inachevés. Mais à cette dureté, l''écrivain allie l''émotion et la compassion envers des êtres blessés dont il sonde les corps, les cœurs et les âmes avec une redoutable efficacité et une incroyable sensibilité. Comme dans la nouvelle titre, où un jeune boxeur participe à des combats clandestins pour expier une faute terrible qui a bouleversé sa vie... C''est là tout le talent de ce jeune auteur canadien qui s''impose, avec ce recueil de nouvelles salué par Thom Jones et Chuck Palahniuk, comme une véritable révélation de la littérature nord-américaine contemporaine.