Life Is about Losing Everything - by Lynn Crosbie (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From the author of the wildly controversial books Liar and Paul's Case comes one of the most anticipated -- and perhaps, in some quarters, feared -- books of the year. This is author Lynn Crosbie at her most honest, most cutting, most hilarious, and most heartbreaking. The stories told here are at once a cache, a repository, of a seven-year period in the author's life; and, too, a gymnasium, a place where she can flex her prodigious wit and her dazzling stash of literary tricks

Deft with matters both low- and highbrow (here are stories about 80s big-hair bands and the lasting, theological value of the Rocky series; here, too are stories contemplating critical theory and fine art), Life Is About Losing Everything speaks with manic yet grave authority about risking and losing everything, and then sorting through the remains to discover what is beautiful, what is trash, and what, ultimately, belongs.

Review Quotes

... a finely carved, blood-stained shiv of a book, beautiful and brutal ...--Stacey May Fowles "National Post"

... an immaculate mix of humour, drama and beauty ... the book is a feral creature, full of intense love even when it bites.--Emily M Keeler "FASHION"

... focused, lucid, and darkly comic ...--Michael Hingston "Winnipeg Review"

... powerful ... Life is About Losing Everything [is] a book that is felt as much as it is read.--Mark Paterson "Rover Arts"

... raw and honest ... although [Crosbie's] experiences are unique, the themes are universal.--Michelle Singerman "Post City Magazines"

... superb ... absolutely beautiful ...--Susan G. Cole "NOW Toronto"

.... brilliant ... [Crosbie] will have even the most hard-boiled reader sobbing.--Robert J. Wiersema "Edmonton Journal"

Imagine Courtney Love with the benefits of a graduate education, or Kathy Acker slightly gentled by CanLit prettiness and politesse.--Laura Penny "Globe and Mail"

Life is About Losing Everything courageously recounts an ugly side of life.--Heather Cromarty "Toronto Review of Books"

Should we try to separate fact from fiction? Can we? Provocative, entertaining and poignant, Life is About Losing Everything makes us sweat for the answers.--Brett Joseph Grubisic "Vancouver Sun"

About the Author

Lynn Crosbie was born in Montreal and is a cultural critic who writes a weekly pop culture column for The Globe and Mail. She holds a Ph.D. in English literature with a background in visual studies, and she teaches at the University of Toronto and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her books (of poetry and prose) include Pearl, Queen Rat, and Dorothy L'Amour. She is also the author of the controversial book, Paul's Case and the editor of The Girl Wants To. She is a contributing editor at Fashion, and a National Magazine Award Winner who has written about sports, style, art, and music. She lives in Toronto.