Bad Things Happen

The characters in Bad Things Happen professors, janitors, webcam models, small-time criminals are between things. Between jobs and marriages, states of sobriety, joy and anguish; between who they are and who they want to be. Kris Bertin's unforgettable debut introduces us to people at the tenuous moment before everything in their lives change, for better or worse."

About the Author :
Kris Bertin's stories have appeared in The Walrus, The Malahat Review, The New Quarterly, PRISM International, and other magazines. He is a two-time winner of the Jack Hodgins' Founders' Award for Fiction and has had his work anthologized in The Journey Prize Anthology, Oberon's Coming Attractions and EXILE's CVC Anthology. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Review :
PRAISE FOR "BAD THINGS HAPPEN" "Brash (in the best possible sense), intriguing, and consummate without being showy, these are terrific stories in a strong, diverse, and fascinating collection.""Quill & Quire" " PRAISE FOR "BAD THINGS HAPPEN" "["Bad Things Happen"] is strongly written and often stylistically daring, but all rooted in a fundamental understanding, a generosity of spirit that, while hard-edged, bespeaks a deep humanism and empathy ... A powerful, compelling collection."Robert Wiersema, "Toronto Star" "Brash (in the best possible sense), intriguing, and consummate without being showy, these are terrific stories in a strong, diverse, and fascinating collection.""Quill & Quire" Bertin s characters are misfits and malcontents, battling various demons and additions while trying to stay sane enough or straight enough to make it through one day. "The Globe and Mail" "On the surface, these stories of labourers (drivers, garbage collectors, a janitor, a thief, con artists, drug dealers and an exterminator, among others) look at how people behave when things fall apart ... Drilling one more layer, "Bad Things Happen" is about how we learn to relate to the world and each other over time, with characters of all ages and phases as illustration. It s about love.""Atlantic Books Today" " PRAISE FOR "BAD THINGS HAPPEN" "[An] excellent debut ... this is a forceful, well-written collection with breadth of imaginationat times melancholy but never depressing.""Publishers Weekly" "["Bad Things Happen"] is strongly written and often stylistically daring, but all rooted in a fundamental understanding, a generosity of spirit that, while hard-edged, bespeaks a deep humanism and empathy ... A powerful, compelling collection."Robert Wiersema, "Toronto Star" "Brash (in the best possible sense), intriguing, and consummate without being showy, these are terrific stories in a strong, diverse, and fascinating collection.""Quill & Quire" Bertin s characters are misfits and malcontents, battling various demons and additions while trying to stay sane enough or straight enough to make it through one day. "The Globe and Mail" "On the surface, these stories of labourers (drivers, garbage collectors, a janitor, a thief, con artists, drug dealers and an exterminator, among others) look at how people behave when things fall apart ... Drilling one more layer, "Bad Things Happen" is about how we learn to relate to the world and each other over time, with characters of all ages and phases as illustration. It s about love.""Atlantic Books Today" " PRAISE FOR BAD THINGS HAPPEN "[An] excellent debut ... this is a forceful, well-written collection with breadth of imaginationat times melancholy but never depressing."Publishers Weekly "[Bad Things Happen] is strongly written and often stylistically daring, but all rooted in a fundamental understanding, a generosity of spirit that, while hard-edged, bespeaks a deep humanism and empathy ... A powerful, compelling collection."Robert Wiersema, Toronto Star "Brash (in the best possible sense), intriguing, and consummate without being showy, these are terrific stories in a strong, diverse, and fascinating collection."Quill & Quire Bertin s characters are misfits and malcontents, battling various demons and additions while trying to stay sane enough or straight enough to make it through one day. The Globe and Mail "On the surface, these stories of labourers (drivers, garbage collectors, a janitor, a thief, con artists, drug dealers and an exterminator, among others) look at how people behave when things fall apart ... Drilling one more layer, Bad Things Happen is about how we learn to relate to the world and each other over time, with characters of all ages and phases as illustration. It s about love."Atlantic Books Today "