Jessica Grant flies under the radar of realism to find targets worth writing about. These stories are profound, magical and true to life. Nothing seems impossible. It’s good to be reminded of that.
Can a story be both a shrug and a prayer? Can it punch you in the arm because, hey, it is only joking, and the next minute fall at your feet, cling to your knees, beg you to listen? Sure. The stories in Making Light of Tragedy are arrogant and uncertain. (This is not a contradiction.) They make no apologies for poor taste, or the occasional rhyme, but they do make a few demands. These include:
Let there be light. Let there be no more epigraphs. Let the ski jumper take off. Let him never ever land. Let us cut limbs, when necessary. And the word count too. Let this be true. Let one person speak the truth. Let Peter Mansbridge be the ghost of Christmas future.
In this first collection by Journey Prize-winner Jessica Grant, you’ll find twenty-three bite-sized stories, with guest appearances by Holt Renfrew’s daughter, Chantal Hébert, Napoleon, the Management, the Senior Climatologist, the Dean of Humanity, Jon Bon Jovi, Virginia Woolf and God.