Waiting for the Cyclone: Stories

(Paperback)

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"A radiant debutbeautifully written, passionate, and whip smart." Ayelet Tsabari, winner of the 2015 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature
In the realm of fiction, women are too often cast as inherently goodtypically kind, always considerate, and traditionally in possession of high morals. Not so in the audacious stories of Waiting for the Cyclone.
Debbie, a seemingly perfect mother, shoots pharmaceuticals at night, and Donna lies to her family about volunteering in Afghanistan so she can parasail in Turkey. Theres also Alison, who wakes up in bed with a tattooed Mexican man, instead of the less-interesting man who brought her on vacation (her husband). These women, and a dozen others, dont need to be liked and are not compelled to make apologies. These women are perfectly imperfect.
At times fast and reckless and at others, calm yet under high pressure, this collection is a powerful literary debut from one of Canadas most promising young writers.
"Original, honest. . . Far from shelter, readers will find themselves pulled closer and closer to the eye of this storm. Brace yourself: these women are unflinchingly real. You will not be able to look away. Elisabeth de Mariaffi, giller-nominated author of How to Get Along with Women

Reviews

"Leesa Dean writes strong, complex, unforgettable female characters I'd like to hang out with. Waiting for the Cyclone is a radiant debut--beautifully written, passionate, and whip smart--from a refreshing new voice bound to make her mark in Canadian literature." --Ayelet Tsabari, author of The Best Place on Earth, winner of the 2015 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature "In Waiting for the Cyclone, Leesa Dean gives us an original, honest voice. Far from shelter, readers will find themselves pulled closer and closer to the eye of this storm. Brace yourself: these women are unflinchingly real. You will not be able to look away." --Elisabeth de Mariaffi, author of How to Get Along with Women, nominated for the Giller Prize "Subversive, illicit, and with a knack for final lines packed with innuendo, Waiting for the Cyclone is a pleasure readers need not feel guilty about." --Quill & Quire "There are few occasions of physical violence in Waiting for the Cyclone, though plenty of emotional damage, the through-line a gale-like force pushing the narrative in a surprise direction-not a twist ending, but a destination unheralded at the beginning...The takeaway: Whatever our strength of will, we are buffeted by circumstances outside our control." -Globe and Mail "Often in fiction, women are portrayed as "good." They may slip up, but they eventually return to goodness. Not so in this collection of stories. These women land hard. They aren't bad people, but neither are they especially likeable. However, they do come across as real-almost uncomfortably authentic in a real-life-stripped-down kind of way. Whether it is a woman leaving a relationship or another in search of the mother who gave her up or a young girl looking at her female role models, there is a weight to these poignant stories that lingers." -Y.A.M.

Author Bio

Leesa Dean teaches English and Creative Writing for Selkirk College in Nelson, BC. She's been a finalist for the Irving Layton Award, the Litpop Award, and the Quebec Writing Competition. Waiting for the Cyclone is her first book.