Daniel has two friends and a shitty job at the Canadian Tire gas station. Life is fine. When he takes Stephen into his parents’ home to protect him from an alcoholic father, Daniel sees another side to life and friendship. Life is hard and nothing makes sense. Alcohol and faith are strange drugs and yes, people do change. Also there is Alice and girls never make things any easier. Nobody asks to be here, but here we are. Everyone gets to decide what to do and who to be and there might actually be someone up there watching. ‘A Good Death to Self’ is a novel about friendship, freewill, faith and change. It’s got drinking, romance, existential confusion and a good amount of swears.
Reviews
Goudsward’s novel immediately brings to mind Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man but set in contemporary small city suburbs. Here there is the cosmic in the comedic, erudition in the everyday, and artistry in the angst. The writing is spry and joyful to read with bright moments of clarity, profound glimpses we all recognize but rarely see captured. Goudsward is unassuming and unpretentious – so crucial for a new writer in my mind – but I am assuming this will be the first of a long list of intriguing books. – Rob Budde
Solomon Goudsward has a knack for rendering the detailed physicality and immediacy of a moment as his characters navigate the snowy streets and shoe-cluttered hallways of a northern, industrial town. His wry, clever, witty turn of phrase reveals both a keen observational eye and an ironic self-awareness that is gently critical without collapsing into cynicism. In fact, as a much-needed antidote to a cynicism, A Good Death To Self brings us a story about young people finding their way to the goodness of the world, each other and themselves amid the complexities of family and love, apathy and expectation, and the weight of responsibility that comes with giving a damn. – Lisa Dickson, professor of English at the University of Northern British Columbia