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Lemon has three mothers: a biological one she’s never met, her adopted father’s suicidal ex, and Drew, a school principal who hasn’t left the house since she was stabbed by a student. She has one deadbeat dad, one young cancer-riddled protégé, and two friends, the school tramp and a depressed poet.

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Reese Larkin is desperate to find the perfect mattress. His job is in jeopardy and he's been forced to separate from his wife and children, but he believes that if he can find the ultimate sleep system his life will begin anew.

In her seventh novel, Cordelia Strube grabs readers by the neuroses with a dark but wickedly fun story about a former Greenpeace activist forced to turn marketeer who battles against a world in which he is confronted by shift mattress sales clerks, a Fred and Ginger-obsessed strip-bar waitress, derisive colleagues, and a wife who has mysteriously turned cold and is keeping his children from him. Alone in his damp basement apartment with his daughter's hamster, he longs for a good night's sleep and, though faced with despair, begins each day hopefully as he grips tighter to the edges of his life.

Engaging, enlightening, and always entertaining, Planet Reese is an intensely personal and endearing tale of a man holding on to his sanity against all odds in an increasingly unhinged world.

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Book on Relationships
This is a great book about the struggles of a relationship! ... Read more

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When a truck slams into her house, causing it to burst into flame, McKenna and her eight-year-old daughter Logan narrowly escape, watching horrified as it burns to the ground. As a result, McKenna suffers a concussion which diminishes her vision. Having lost all possessions, they are forced to camp out in a seedy motel with their narcoleptic dog, Stanley.Payne, McKenna's sex-addicted ex-lover, on the run from loan sharks, abruptly joins them, igniting hope in Logan who yearns for her parents' reconciliation and a "normal" life. For McKenna, Payne's reappearance, while reawakening desire, only adds to her anxieties, mainly the worsening of her eye condition that threatens her livelihood as a hair stylist. Increasingly haunted by memories of abuse suffered at the hand of her father, she is suddenly forced to care for him when he is felled by a stroke.Logan can barely sleep because the rainforests are being bulldozed and the world's whale population is rapidly declining. Their residence in the drug-infested motel with "no-lifers", including a supermarket clown with a pet pig, is just an extension of a problematic world, as she sees it. When the last blow falls, and Logan is finally forced by McKenna to reveal her shameful secret, hope appears lost."Blind Night" is classic Strube. With keen observation, pitch-perfect dialogue, and ferocious humour, she folds the reader seamlessly into the heads of her characters. This mordantly funny and haunting novel could have come only from Canada's pre-eminent writer of contemporary urban fiction. ... Read more

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At the top of her form, Canada's preeminent writer of new urban fiction brings forth her most powerful novel to date. Cordelia Strube conjures up a heart-breaking tale of madness and murder set against the ravages of cancer.In this, in her fifth novel, Strube tells the story of Greer Pentland, a forty-something realtor, who is battling cancer while struggling to find redemption and hope for her teenaged son Sam, who is on trial for the vicious murder of two senior citizens while sleepwalking.Despite the difficulties that Greer faces, including an ex-husband who wants to sell the house that she and her son live in, this is riveting, provocative, and mordantly funny novel. Strube's searing indictment of the medical profession and our media-saturated culture is masterfully fused together with a stream of new stories and wit making this an unforgettable read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Barking Dog
This book really surprised me. I hadn't read anything of substance for quite a while, so when I picked it out I expected to enjoy it. I didn't expect I would enjoy it so much, though. I couldn't put it down for days. I loved her humorous outlook and the point of view from which she observed life after knowing (relatively) how much time she had left. I could feel her love for those around her, and I literally laughed out loud and sobbed in the same chapter. I finished the book feeling as if I had really learned something, and can sympathize with her feelings on a day to day basis. This book will change your life.

LOVED IT!
This book tops my all-time-favourites list. It's "darkly funny" content had me laughing on one page and tearing up on the next.I enjoyed her style of writing, where you can "hear" her speaking as you read - it flows wonderfully and reads just as a person would speak.I had never heard of this author before until I read this book. Now I will be looking up more of her books! ... Read more

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"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig."T-shirt slogan. Rita is a single mother with mice in her cupboard, fibroids in her gut, a demented mother, and a sister falling apart along with her marriage. But what Rita really wants is to save her six year old son from losing faith in the world. A powerful novel wherein pain, longing, and loneliness are met squarely with dark wit, deadpan irony and surprising glimmers of hope. ... Read more

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Urban decay and cheese puffs
Teaching Pigs to Sing was an excellent book depicting urban life.I was quite partial to it because it was realistic and showed the hardships and pitfalls that people have in their lives.the book touches on manydifferent social issues and is a great book for discussion.I definatelyrecomend it.Cordelia Strube has written a 20th century masterpiece. ... Read more

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an outstanding author with a gift for dialogue
Sometimes our hopes, dreams and desires end up being quite the opposite. So begins the amusing but often heartbreaking story of Raymond, the story's main character and his finding of not only his birth mother, but also his identical twin brother, Dwayne. I'm sure there could be a story there somewhere for just the two of them.....they're quite a pair! Set generally around Raymond's place of employment,Chez Simon, the storyline is complimented with a whole other cast of great characters. It's hard not to enjoy this book and the cast of misfits that come alive as the story unfolds. Cordelia Strube truly has a knack for quick refreshing dialogue and great characters.....warts and all! ... Read more

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Word count: 1049. ... Read more