Simple Recipes

From the award-winning author of Dogs at the Perimeter, a stunning debut now repackaged as a Vintage Canada trade paperback.


Longing, familiarity, and hope fill the pages of this new edition of Madeleine Thien's collection of stories, which explore the subtle dimensions of personal connections and the bonds that are fraught with tension--deftly weaving in conflicts between generations and cultures. With a masterful insight into the relationships that define us, Thien creates a cast of true-to-life characters who are all looking for ways to make amends and come to terms with the events that have shaped their lives: whether a woman searching her past for the moment when her family lost faith in itself, two sisters who keep watch outside their former home in the hope that their long-absent mother will return, a wife who helps her husband grieve for the woman he has loved since childhood, or a daughter who reflects on the simple ritual she shared with her father and when her unconditional love for him was called into question. Compassionate and revealing, delicate and wise, these stories chart the uneven progress of love and expose the heartbreaking truths at the core of our closest bonds.