Things Go Flying

If you knew that life went on forever—because your mother had been a medium, and you’d had ghosts in the house all the time—and you were middle-aged and depressed and knew you could never end it all, what would you do? This comic novel about death raises some questions relevant to us all: how are we to find meaning in this life? What are we to make of the human soul? This is Harold Walker’s dilemma—he is facing the prospect of eternity, with no real belief system to give him solace or direction.

“I think once you reach a certain age, you do ask yourself—what comes after this? And if you’re at all curious, it’s a rather big question. We live in a time when there aren’t really any easy or automatic answers,” says author Shari Lapeña. “But you don’t want to shoot yourself to find out.”

Things Go Flying is a funny, entertaining novel about a man who has refused to fully engage with the world his entire life. But he is flung out of his comfort zone when ghosts from the past come back to haunt him, smashing the china and spilling family secrets. Ultimately, Harold’s communion with the dead--and his sessions with a really good philosopher—enable him to really begin to live.

SHARI LAPEÑA worked as a lawyer and as an English teacher before turning to writing fiction. She is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers, where her mentor was David Adams Richards. Her work has appeared in the Dalhousie Review, and the Globe and Mail. She was shortlisted for the 2006 CBC Literary Awards. She is married with two children, and lives in Toronto, where she is currently at work on her second novel.

Published by Brindle & Glass