“Chris Benjamin’s mode of writing is raw, unvarnished, heartrending dirty realism. His characters are tormented youngsters left to navigate the fallout from family tragedy
on their own while struggling to locate a moral compass to guide them through the emotional minefield of adolescence. The Art of Forgiveness is heady stuff, a careening ride without guardrails through chaotic lives.”
In his wonderful analysis for The Seaboard Review, fellow Halifax writer Ian Colford captures the spirit and grit of this new collection of eight stories about three boys set in the suburbs near Halifax, Nova Scotia, “Canada’s ocean playground.” There, they deal with “broken families, unrequited lust, distracted parents and a dangerous subculture of drugs and violence.”
Launched in September, it was recently an Editor’s Pick for Atlantic Books Today magazine. You can order your copy here.