Sanctuary & Other Stories

Jennifer Duncanís debut collection of fiction, Sanctuary and Other Stories, introduces a brilliant and innovative new voice to Canadian literature. These fourteen stories, interconnected and set in the Toronto punk scene of the 1980s, are startling in the humour and grace they bring to a subculture too often presented in the media as one-dimensional and anti-social. In a language both passionate and wryly self-aware, Jennifer Duncan creates a world that is totally convincing in its detail and its rich humanity.

Critical Comment

ìLetter-perfect, edgy chronicles of life in the Gen-X zone. Duncan writes with precision, humour, and confidence. Delightful ...î

ó Sarah Sheard, author of The Swing Era and The Hypnotist

ìThese nervy wired stories fibrillate with the energy of their raw inquiry into the trippy fastdance of contemporary identities adrift and amok in downtown T.O. and environs; at this level, the stories revel in a stark new naturalism sharply attuned to a stark new milieu. But these are stories that also preen, first, in language, at once swooning through their speakersí poetic riffs and disowning them with an elaborate knowing shrug.î

ó Canadian Literature

ìThis is a strong womanís voice, with no intention at all of hiding the obstacles set in her charactersí paths by other peopleís exploitation, perceptions, and demands.î

ó The Link, 2000