John O'Neill

John O'Neill's gothic short stories, set in the Canadian Rockies, are haunted by the violence inherent in nature and humans. The mountains are majestic and impassive. The characters are surprising, bent, but also empathetic. Their survival is tenuous. A two-sister team of goth tour guides offers guided excursions up switchback mountain trails; a paroled convict thumbs his way into the life of a family driving west; and an animal pathologist, while performing a necropsy on a grizzly bear, has an unusual encounter with both technology and humanity. Goth Girls of Banff is a superb collection, sharply written, with plot turns as consequence-laden as those on an iced-over mountain road.

Goth Girls of Banff

Briar's Reviews

Goth Girls of Banff is an excellent collection of Canadian short stories.

This was a book I read over several days, and man was it worth every read! I kind of drew the read out because it was so good and I didn't want to rush it (although, if you want to - do it. The book is good). When you jump into this book, you're taken to a very Canadian landscape. This book does feel like it needs to be held in some Canadian book museum because it's just an all around super Canadian read. It feels like home.

John O'Neill has a way with words and paints very beautiful stories. Goth Girls of Banff is one of the stories inside this collection, which is where the title gets it name. Each story will resonate with you differently, I definitely preferred the first half of the book more than the last half. What is Written or Talking to Keep the Bears Away, Athabasca, Attacking the Bear and Three Places were my favourites out of this collection.

Whether you want to pick up all the stories and binge it, or tackle them one at a time, this book is a purely Canadian read that is on my 2021 must reads list! It's a great collection of stories for those seeking something with a little more 'umph'. This book will transport you to Canada.

Four out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.