Lures

This pipe felt good, its cold sides penetrated through his jacket and made him feel more awake than he’d had in weeks. And there was something about cars passing without being able to see him that gave him a sort of satisfaction. He was hidden from the street, from anyone walking by and was cocooned in cement. Transported. Slowly the muscles in his body relaxed, his legs, his neck, though he hadn’t even realized they’d been tight. He felt himself breathe and with each exhale felt tension leave his body.

Outside something began tapping the pipe. He opened his eyes, startled by the sound of a sort of scraping along the top of it as if something was being dragged against the cement. For a moment he though it might be an animal but quickly dismissed the idea, the sound being almost metallic. He waited, hoping whoever it was would continue walking and was surprised at how afraid he was. The sound of his heart seemed to slide from his ears and mouth into the pipe where it echoed and kept an ominous beat like a bad horror movie, he thought, the killer taking one slow step at a time…
—From Lures

Grace is 17 and wonders why she feels different. Sheila, her mother, spends endless hours cleaning, furiously trying to scrub away the stubborn pain leaching through the plastic-encased surface of their immaculate home. Gary, her brother, hides in the basement, squinting at life through a haze of pot smoke. Les, her father, finds instant gratification in buying an endless parade of gadgets, each one promising to give him the respect and power he craves. It’s no wonder that Lily’s family seems so normal to Grace. Attracted by her friend’s warm, bright house and caring parents, Grace searches for a refuge of love and acceptance. But although they hardly know each other, a secret thread connects both families, slowly and inexorably unraveling their lives.

With lyrical grace and formidable story telling talent, Susan Goyette builds her first novel to a climax that is raw in its emotional power, yet sensitive and ultimately redemptive in its portrayal of people snared by their own pain. There is suffering, but also great beauty and hope in Goyette’s poetically drawn small-town world.

Lures is a novel that is difficult to put down, driven by the remarkable writing skill of a writer who will be welcomed as one of the best new voices in today’s literary fiction.