Though smothered in snow half the year, Montreal's demi-monde burns with the secret hurts and poignant epiphanies of those living there. Through the lives of its inhabitants, "Smoked Meat" paints a portrait of a vibrant melting pot that is buzzing with sexual braggadocio and illicit opportunities. When he falls in love with a man in a sauna, a student devastates his waitress girlfriend. Meanwhile, a life-model upsets the delicate equilibrium between two artists, and a teenage shop assistant does what she can to lose her virginity to her boss. Rowena Macdonald takes us into the lives of people living on the dilapidated margins of Montreal. The city's seedy mores are slowly corrupting their innocence, turning them, like Montreal's signature dish, from green to smoked meat.

'Confident, funny and poignant. Macdonald's world draws the reader in irresistibly.' --Jane Rogers'Deliciously erotic and hugely readable, with some wonderful moments of illumination.' --Maureen Freely'This finely tuned and accomplished first collection confirms that, in the right hands, the short story remains as valid and potent, as vigorous and rewarding, as ever.' --Robert Edric'These are stories of interlopers and of (North) Americana, as evocative of Douglas Coupland s Generation X as they are James Joyce s The Dead .' --Gavin James Bower, 3:AM Magazine'A really rather fine piece of writing.' (On the story 'Down to Rue Beaudry') --Scott Pack, Me and My Big Mouth