Cascade

By: Craig Davidson

Narrated by: Ishan Davé, Stephanie Belding, Steve Byers, Anand Rajaram, Timothy Carlson

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 TRILLIUM BOOK AWARDS

Reminiscent of Stephen King's brilliantly cinematic short stories that went on to inspire films such as The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, here's a collection crackling with Craig Davidson's superb craft and kinetic energy: in the visceral, crystalline, steel-tipped prose; in the psychological perspicacity; and in the endearing humour.

Set in in the Niagara Falls of 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 hard-boiled ex-firefighter goes after a serial arsonist with a flair for the theatrical even as his own troubled sister is drawn towards the flames. These are just some of the unforgettable characters animating this stellar collection of tales--Davidson's first in 15 years, since Rust and Bone, which inspired the Golden Globe-nominated film.

Critic reviews

PRAISE FOR CASCADE

"A brilliant collection. Davidson's prose is very sharp but never only sharp; it is alive, it is limpid, it is darkly funny and it never hides or shies from love. . . . Read this collection now." —Amy Bloom, author of White Houses

“Cascade is the rare collection in which there is not a single false note. In these six harrowing stories, Craig Davidson illuminates the hidden corners of Niagara Falls, and the private mysteries and griefs of his characters, with kinetic urgency and gritty compassion. Cascade is a sweeping and remarkable work of art.” —Lauren van den Berg, author of The Third Hotel

“Davidson’s stories retain their immediacy and gut-level emotion while also allowing for a lyricism in the writing that elevates the subject matter. . . . The point is in the small moments, the careful attention to detail and emotional resonance that Davidson is so good at in his short stories.” —Toronto Star

“Reading Davidson is a visceral experience: the language fractures and insinuates, sentences fragmenting and distorting as they reflect the movements of both the narratives and their characters.” —Quill & Quire


PRAISE FOR CRAIG DAVIDSON

“Craig Davidson is one of this country’s great kinetic writers.” —The Globe and Mail

“What’s so fascinating about Davidson’s fiction is its ambivalence: he’s simultaneously satirizing and celebrating outsized manliness. He creates a safe space to interrogate masculinity on masculine terms—his books are boys’ clubs, where protagonists play at being men in order to understand just what it might mean to be one. Set aside the jacked-up gore and fantastical scenarios, and Davidson’s art becomes an imitation of life.” —Emily Keeler, Toronto Life

“Viscerally exciting and deeply thoughtful . . . powerfully written and satisfies at every level.” —Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize on The Saturday Night Ghost Club

“An examination, like most good literature is, of how we live our lives.” —Toronto Star on The Saturday Night Ghost Club