Bad Ideas (ECW Press)
Order here: https://ecwpress.com/collections/vendors?q=Marston%2C%20Missy
Trudy Johnson is a factory worker living in Preston Mills, a “scrubby shit-town clinging to the bank of the cold grey St. Lawrence River”. She lives with her depressed mother and her five-year-old niece in the smallest house in town. Trying to avoid the fate of her mother and sister – a “bad reputation” and unwanted pregnancy – she has sworn off men. Until Jules Tremblay, a daredevil of uneven success, comes to town. He has a plan to jump the river in a rocket car and a sad story to tell. And Trudy starts to get ideas.
“An unusual story of both familial and romantic love, the strange dreams humans have, and the cost and benefits of loyalty.” -Kirkus Reviews
“Many novels claim to illuminate working class lives but this one feels loving and authentic…Bad Ideas is fun and playful, always wanting to entertain, to make us feel and see through the eyes of these different people.” – Prism International
“Funny, binge-worthy, and wrapped with little gems about love and family.” -ALU Book Club
“Bad Ideas is all heart, packed with humour, vivid and memorable writing, and unforgettable characters.” – Open Book Ontario
The Love Monster (Vehicule Press)
Order here: https://vehiculepress.com/shop/the-love-monster-a-novel-by-missy-marston/
The Love Monster is the story of one woman’s climb out of the deep dark hole of mid-life sadness. Margaret H. Atwood has psoriasis, a boring job and a bad attitude. Her cheating husband has left her. And none of her pants fit any more.
Hope comes in the form of a dope-smoking senior citizen, a religious fanatic, a good lawyer and a talking turtle (not to mention Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Warren Zevon, Neil Armstrong and a yogi buried deep underground). And hope comes in the form of a love-sick alien speaking in the voice of Donald Sutherland.
“To call Marston’s humour wry is barely a start. The twist in her comedy is fuelled by merciless observation, unvarnished glimpses into the human appetite for misery… As the story gets weirder, it becomes both funnier and unexpectedly moving.” -The Globe and Mail
“There is hope, humour, and wry commentary on how we perceive the world and each other, but deeply buried under it all is that kernel of sadness, and Marston isn’t afraid to excavate it. In doing so, she creates characters that resonate and actively engage the reader in the search for hope and redemption.” -Quill & Quire
“Such generosity is surprisingly rare – too often writers rely on straw men and caricatures to set off their main character’s authenticity. But every potential “type” in this book, from the kooky mom to the loser boss to the uptight Christian girl, is shown, finally, to be a person worthy of sympathy and respect… Marston’s prose is unfailingly charming.” – Montreal Review of Books
“A comic first novel by an irreverent Canadian.” -Commentary Magazine
“You sure have chutzpah!” -Margaret Atwood