Beggar's Sea
by Craig Abalone
In Churchill, Manitoba, things are changing fast as a Polar Bear sightseeing outlet faces a rash of complaints from tourists � many of the bears sighted have been spraypainted by city authorities trying to tackle the problematic garbage dwelling bears. The sightseeing outlet changes tactics, and begins offering bear-sighting tours to the local dump.
As the plight of the garbage bears becomes news and the peculiar tours become massively popular, the city faces the terrible dilemma � sort out the garbage bear problem for good, or promote the phenomenon as a lucrative, if embarrassing, tourist trade? Wry, hauntingly funny, and iced with political acumen, Abalone�s third novel with Pariah lands blows where you least expect them. A classic!
Craig Abalone is an avid writer, having just released his third novel in five years. He was awarded the Manitoba Press Award for his novel in 1998, Iceland: The End of Time. Abalone currently resides in Saskatoon.
"A dry wit that soars without pretension, Craig Abalone has survived the sophomore jinx with flying colours... Beggar's Sea is a tongue-in-cheek triumph!" (Roger Schmidt, The Georgia Straight)
"Truly funny; Wag the Dog meets Canadian humility, all the while peppered with the enduringly bleak imagery of a region desperate for support. Abalone can deliver a bold and colourful tale with taste." (Ula Hackey, Victoria Times-Colonist)
"All publicity is good publicity, they say, and Abalone knows how to exploit the idea to its fullest. The lines between embarrassment and endowment have been neatly and comicly blurred." (Pin Holbrock, Calgary Sun)
Excerpt from Beggar's Sea
"Laila seemed to sneer at the tour bus, its gargantuan tires grinding to a stop on wet black gravel. She lifted her head, dirty with ashes and particles of moldy bread, cocked an eye, and murmured a low gruff. The crowd was pleased. 'That bastard looks pissed!' Buck cheered. It was pissed. Buck wasn't alone in cheering it. 'The poor thing, I hope it doesn't come our way,' Mandie worried with more than a hint of eco-excitement. Rob paused at that, pursed his lips. 'Sure,' he began, 'that might be a problem. These bears get mighty hungry in the dumps. After all... they're used to feasting on seals and caribou,'
'And man!' Buck yelled
'Yes -- and man.' Rob played this up expertly, seeing the faces of his group becoming ever redder, not with embarrassment, but with genuine thrill. They were riveted, speaking about the shame of it all beneath their collective breath, while at once hoping desperately for an attack, for something they could write fascinating postcards about back to Springfield Illinois or Tampa Bay. 'If she's hungry as she looks, we might have to peel out of here pretty fast. You all hold on to the railings by your seats, you hear?' Rob didn't make the motion to peel away just yet. They all hoped for Laila to charge. She looked up from her lunch of egg carton, now more than annoyed. They hoped..."
288 pages, 140 x 215 mm
softcover (fiction)
$16.95 (Can), $12.50 (US)
0-90210-63-1