Pillow
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: March 16, 2017 2:37 PM | Last Updated: March 16, 2017
Andrew Battershill
Pillow loves animals. Especially giraffes. That's why he chooses the zoo for the drug drop-offs he does as a low-level enforcer for the mob. Which happens to be run by André Breton and the Surrealists, like Gwynn Apollinaire, Louise Aragon and Georges Bataille.
A gentle soul, Pillow doesn't love his life of crime. But he isn't cut out for much else, what with all the punches to the head he took as a professional boxer. And now that he's accidentally but sort of happily knocked up his neighbour, Emily, he wants to get out and go straight. So when an antique-coin heist goes awry, Pillow sees his chance to make one last big score. But it's hard to outwit a Surrealist, especially when you can't always think so clearly. He soon finds himself knee-deep in murder and morphine, kidnapping a pseudo-priest and doing some fancy footwork around a pair of corrupt cops. (From Coach House Books)
From the book
Pillow spent the last half of his run throwing straight punches up into the air, smiling and imagining three cheetahs charging, gathering momentum across the empty plain of the sky. He saw the way their hips moved, and he pictured the way their faces looked up close: calm and still, being pushed on hard by the wind. As he cooled down and stretched on the thin, fading strip of grass between his apartment and the sidewalk, Pillow came back to himself a little and laughed. But he couldn't help it. It's normal to be excited when you're going to the zoo.
From Pillow by Andrew Battershill ©2015. Published by Coach House Books.