Hellgoing

Hellgoing is a collection of nine short stories by Canadian author Lynn Coady that won the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize. The stories feature characters navigating complex personal relationships and challenging life situations across contemporary Canadian settings. Each narrative stands alone but shares common threads of human struggle, miscommunication, and the search for connection. The characters range from a young nun dealing with an anorexic patient to a journalist interviewing a musician, with each facing distinct moral and emotional challenges. The collection includes "An Otherworld," "Wireless," "Body Condom," and six other stories that examine how people cope with modern life's pressures and expectations. The settings span urban and rural locations, while the characters represent diverse ages and backgrounds. The stories in Hellgoing explore themes of identity, faith, and human connection, revealing the internal conflicts that arise when personal beliefs collide with reality. Coady's work examines how people navigate between their ideals and their actions in contemporary society.

Readers describe the short stories in Hellgoing as psychologically complex but emotionally distant. The collection won Canada's 2013 Giller Prize, though many readers found it less engaging than Coady's novels. Readers appreciated: - Sharp observations of human behavior and relationships - Dark humor throughout the stories - Complex female characters - Clean, precise writing style Common criticisms: - Characters feel cold and unlikeable - Stories end abruptly without resolution - Tone remains detached and clinical - Collection feels uneven in quality Ratings: Goodreads: 3.4/5 (1,100+ ratings) Amazon: 3.5/5 (24 ratings) LibraryThing: 3.7/5 (42 ratings) "The stories maintain distance when you want them to dig deeper," notes one Goodreads reviewer. Another writes: "Brilliant writing but I couldn't connect emotionally." Several readers mentioned struggling to finish certain stories while finding others compelling.

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🏆 The book won Canada's prestigious Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2013, making Coady only the third woman from Atlantic Canada to receive this honor. 📚 Lynn Coady drew inspiration for some of the stories from her experiences as a journalist and creative writing teacher in Edmonton, Alberta. 🌎 The collection's title "Hellgoing" comes from a regional expression used in Nova Scotia, Coady's home province, meaning to proceed with determination or intensity. 🔄 Several stories in the collection were previously published in literary magazines, including The New Quarterly and The Walrus, before being compiled into this book. 🎭 The character development in "Hellgoing" was influenced by Coady's background in theater and playwriting, which she studied at York University.