Fruit
A novel about a boy and his nipples
Brian Francis
9781550226201
278 pages
Ecw Press
Overview
CBC Canada Reads 2009 Runner-Up
Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection
"Hilarious and gentle.” — Booklist
“Beguilingly alive.” — Seattle Times
“Laugh-out-loud funny.” — NOW
“Bracingly off-centre.” — Globe & Mail
“Lovely and odd.” — Kirkus Review
“Sweet, tart and forbidden in all the right places” — Entertainment Weekly
When the world feels dark and hopeless, curl up with this heartwarming, laugh-out-loud hilarious book, full of love and warmth in the midst of a difficult and unwieldy world.
What do you get when you cross the Virgin Mary with Brooke Shields, add a trash-talking beauty queen wannabe and throw in a couple of talking nipples? One of the most laugh-out-loud books you’ll read all year.
Peter Paddington is 13, overweight, the subject of his classmates’ ridicule, and the victim of too many bad movie-of-the-week storylines. When Peter’s nipples begin speaking to him one day and inform him of their diabolical plan to expose his secret desires to the world, Peter finds himself cornered in a world that seems to have no tolerance for difference.
Peter’s only solace is “The Bedtime Movies” — perfect-world fantasies that lull him to sleep every night. But when the lines between Peter’s fantasy world and his reality begin to blur, no one is safe from the depths of Peter’s imagination — especially Peter himself.
Author Bio
Brian Francis’s most recent work, Box 4901, premiered at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in 2020 to sold-out audiences. CBC said it was a “profound must-see” and NOW magazine said “his insights into his life are heartbreaking in their honesty.” His most recent novel, Break in Case of Emergency, was a finalist for the 2019 Governor General’s Literary Awards. Apple Books called it a “knockout” and The Globe and Mail said it “beautifully explores issues around mental health and suicide.” His previous novel, Natural Order, was selected by the Toronto Star, Kobo and Georgia Straight as a Best Book of 2011. His first novel, Fruit, was a 2009 Canada Reads finalist and is an Amazon and 49th Shelf “100 Canadian Books to Read in a Lifetime” title. His first non-fiction book, Missed Connections, will be published by McClelland & Stewart in June 2021.
