Canongate Books
Steven Sherrill | The Minotaur Takes A Cigarette Break
9781786896148
PB
311 pages
Five thousand years after leaving the Cretan Labyrinth, the Minotaur – or M as he is known to his colleagues – is working as a line chef at Grub’s Rib in Carolina, keeping his horns down, trying in vain to put his past behind him. He leads an ordered lifestyle in a shabby trailer park where he tinkers with cars, writes and re-writes to-do lists and observes the haphazard goings on around him. Outwardly controlled, M tries to hide his emotional turmoil as he is transported deeper into the human world of deceit, confusion and need.
“A wry, melancholy, beautiful first novel … The language is everywhere precise and graceful … Genius”
Guardian
“Beautifully detailed and honed … a poetic testament to the wild, unchartable experience of human loving … Sherrill’s vision is at once melancholy and deeply affirming. Somewhere in M’s inchoate mass of sensation there exists a sharp spark of hope”
Observer
“Immaculate … Sherrill is a beautiful writer … he finds the drama to keep you reading, your heart in your mouth, to the conclusion’s defiant roar of hope”
Telegraph
“At once ugly, tender and hopeful … Sherrill’s Minotaur allows for allusive readings but remains rootedly among us”
Independent
“Exceptional … Steven Sherrill uses M as the vehicle for a finely observed and compassionate portrayal of humanity in all its guises”
Irish Independent