Praise for Curationism: “Balzer writes with zest, scepticism and sly humour” Sheila Heti, author of Pure ColourWhat does it mean to call something “new”? Why is Western art and culture, even after postmodernism, still so obsessed with the concept? What are the consequences of relying on culture to bring about social change?In this provocative book, David Balzer argues that Western culture was never designed to produce truly new or original...

*Winner of the ICA Book of the Year, 2015*Now that we 'curate' even lunch, what happens to the role of the connoisseur in contemporary culture?'Curate' has become a buzzword, applied to everything from music festivals to artisanal cheese. Inside the art world, the curator reigns supreme, acting as the face of high-profile group shows in a way that can eclipse the contributions of individual artists. At the same time, curatorial-studies programs continue to grow, and busines...

This debut collection of stories — featuring a talk-show host and her talking hand, a womens activity group that writes to prisoners, and a poncho-making nudist — is as unique as it is compelling. Set in their own melodramatic worlds, the stories take inspiration from Old Hollywood, Gothic novels, art-world gossip, and maybe a Lifetime movie or two. Balzer's observations are as sharp as Flauberts, and his characters are drawn with the complexity of George Saunders (and the wit of George Sa...

Now that we 'curate' even lunch, what happens to the role of the connoisseur in contemporary culture?‘Curate’ is now a buzzword, applied to everything from music festivals to artisanal cheese. Inside the art world, the curator reigns supreme, acting as the face of high-profile group shows and biennials in a way that can eclipse and assimilate the contributions of individual artists. Curatorial-studies programs continue to grow, and the business world is adopting cu...

Praise for Curationism: "Balzer writes with zest, skepticism, and sly humor" —Sheila Heti, author of Pure ColourWhat does it mean to call something "new"? Why is Western art and culture, even after postmodernism, still so obsessed with the concept? What are the consequences of relying on culture to bring about social change?In this provocative book, David Balzer argues that Western culture was never designed to produce truly new or origina...

Henrik Nordmark is a bald, middle-aged security guard with few friends and no romantic possibilities. Tired of being the weed sprouting out of the wallflower, generic in his generality, Henrik has an epiphany. He will have one moment of inimitable distinction, even if it kills him.Henrik first sets out to experience the throes of addiction, then to become virtuous, and barring this to be known as a public menace. Inevitably he resolves to find true love and fails miserably. Along his jour...

"A strange and surprisingly touching novel about how people find good and evil where they look for them" ( Booklist).In 1930s Russia, an eight-year-old boy named Vladimir is suddenly stricken with a chronic case of the hiccups. He soon finds himself spirited away to a Moscow hospital by the famous physician Sergei Namestikov, who puts him through a series of extraordinary—and often bizarre—treatments in an effort to find a cure.Then Sergei's chief ...

An advertising man searches for meaning in this "fascinating dissection of the media world we live in . . . A thought-provoking road-trip tale" ( Chicago Tribune).Longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller PrizeIn his mid-thirties, Joe works as an advertising copywriter for a slick New York agency. But he feels disillusioned with his life, and finds himself experiencing dreams about a mysterious man, seeing him on the street, hearing his voice. ...

Dying is the best way to revive your musical career … even if you’re not really dead.It’s all slipping away from Roc Molotov – his band, his girlfriend, and worst of all, his ability to play the game demanded by the star-making machinery of the music business. When the best record he’s ever made is about to pass unnoticed, his oldest friend and manager, Uncle Strange, concocts the perfect scheme. Roc will fake his death, on MTV, in front of millions of viewers, assuring massive suc...

Does one honor one’s country or one’s heart? Malka Marom explores this classic dilemma in her stunningly powerful first novel, an extraordinary tale of people caught up in a violent and seemingly endless historical conflict, compelled by love and grief to transcend it.Sulha tells the story of Leora, who, twenty years after her husband was killed in the Sinai War, is empowered by law to decide whether or not to allow her only son to serve high-risk duty as his father did. As Abraham...

From Governor General’ s Award-winner Nino Ricci, one of Canada’s most highly acclaimed literary voices, Testament is a bold work of historical fiction. Set in a remote corner of the Roman Empire at a moment of political unrest and spiritual uncertainty, it re-tells the life of a holy man of enormous charisma who alters the course of human history. Grounded in extensive research, and written with the poetic sensibility that has earned Ricci an international reputation,

A tale of obsession so fierce that a man kills the thing he loves most: the only giant golden spruce on earth.When a shattered kayak and camping gear are found on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Northwest, they reignite a mystery surrounding a shocking act of protest. Five months earlier, logger-turned-activist Grant Hadwin had plunged naked into a river in British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands, towing a chainsaw. When his night's work was done, a unique ...