"In the eight stories of her debut collection, New Brunswick writer Kathy-Diane Leveille observes the ties and binds of working class lives in lucidly evoked rural settings....her settings and especially her characters--their hopes and fears, verbal and behavioral tics, even their smells--are keenly observed and full of sensual presence."
-Jim Bartley, The Globe and Mail
An old man skates alone under a winter moon; a kite ferries letters to the dead; Aunt Gracie dances the Dill Pickle Dance. In Roads Unravelling , Kathy-Diane Leveille reveals characters who are full of human frailties but willing to travel down necessary roads, no matter how unexpected their twists and turns.
THE CHAIR: Willa discovers her grandfather's chair hidden in the bush by the railway tracks and has to find out if it ended up there by accident or if somebody had a plan.Click here to go to The Chair.
MAGGIE'S WAKE: Maggie wonders if the dreams of her youth are dead when she spots a coffin floating in the river.Click here to go to Maggie's Wake.
"All of us can see ourselves in these characters. These are stories that speak to the complicated bonds we have with siblings and parents, who they were and who they are now, and how we learn the truth of what we took for granted before."
-The Fredericton Gleanor
"Dive into these stories, let their current take you. New Brunswick's Kennebecasis is to Kathy-Diane Leveille what the Miramichi is to David Adams Richards--a harsh and lovely riverscape of the soul. Leveille's writing sings of heartbreak and redemption, and the wicked, dancing moments in between. A wise and stirring debut."
-Carol Bruneau
ROSEMARY'S TIME: Claire confronts a ghost from the past who is haunting her in the present. Click here to go to Rosemary's Time.
ROADS UNRAVELLING: Andrea is furious when her mother, an angel-obsessed recovering alcoholic, greets the confession that her daughter is having an affair with a smile. Click here to go to Roads Unravelling.
"Kathy-Diane Leveille's first short story collection uses rural New Brunswick to explore characters who, in the midst of emotional change, find childhood memory tugging at their sleeves."
-Atlantic Books Today
"Roads Unravelling sends the reader down an honest dirt-road trek to some very worthwhile destinations off the beaten path. Kathy-Diane Leveille portrays her travelling companions with clarity and insight. Her fiction is absorbing; her command of dialogue and story development is assured. Roads Unravelling is a great piece of Canadian literature."
-Lesley Choyce
STICKS AND STONES: Does Gar really resent her daughter's rebellion, or is she simply afraid to resuscitate her heart without a gaurantee that life won't bleed it dry? Click here to go to Sticks and Stones.
LEARNING TO SPIN: Sam has lost all interest in making love, but she is interested in the sinister old man living up the hill--is he really going to try to knock someone off? Click here to go to Learning to Spin.
"From Quispamsis and down the Kennebecasis River, Kathy-Diane Leveille's collection of short stories, Roads Unravelling, is a winding highway of quiet, still surfaces and yawning depths. Patrolling the flow are gape-jawed monsters and small glimmering pearls of real beauty...Leveille has the ability to write convincingly with the precise delicate strokes that reveal nuance and shadings of character that are very satisfying."
-The New Brunswick Reader
"Leveille shows how fine a line divides those things we can't control in our lives and those we can, and how we can decide to accept the differences."
-Thunder Bay Chronical Journal
AUNTY GRABBITY: For the first time in her life, Rolleen has something her older sister desperately wants, but she's not going to give it up until she is good and ready. Click here to go to Aunty Grabbity.
THE DILL PICKLE DANCE: Merissa always wanted to run away from home, but on her wedding day? Click here to go to The Dill Pickle Dance.
Roads Unravelling can be purchased in fine independent book stores across the country, including the UNB book stores, Westminister Books, The Sussex Book Stop, Benjamin Books or through Sumach Press Click here to go to Sumach Press. It is also available at various Coles and Chapter outlets.
"Warning: Don’t start reading Leveille’s book at breakfast if you plan on making it to work on time. It’s that good!"
-Voyage North, CBC Radio Thunder Bay, Ontario
COMING IN THE SPRING OF 2009: Kathy-Diane Leveille's new novel Let The Shadows Fall Behind You from Kunati Books. For details visit Kathy-Diane's weblog at www.kathydiane.com and say hello.
