Fiction Pick of the Week: The Canterbury Trail

The Canterbury Trail by Angie Abdou 2011
The Canterbury Trail is a present day tale of a weekend trek to a remote cabin in the Canadian Rockies. With the end of the ski season upon them, three separate groups from the small mining town of Coalton, B.C. head out for one final weekend of skiing in the backcountry. When the redneck snowmobilers, stoned ski bums, hippies, lesbians, urbanite, and the local real estate developer with his pregnant wife all converge on the same cabin, dysfunctional relationships are plentiful, and each is examined from various perspectives. As can be expected from the stereotypes presented in this story, drug use, drinking, profanity, and sexual innuendo are extensive. Despite having 14 characters to follow, and a number of underlying themes to consider, the events that take place over the course of the weekend are somewhat predictable. The abrupt ending, however, was unexpected. This is the second novel written by Angie Abdou, a Canadian author. Her first novel, The Bone Cage, is a Canada Reads 2011 Nominee. For readers who like Miriam Toews and Elizabeth Hay.