Pedal
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: April 10, 2017 3:25 PM | Last Updated: April 10, 2017
Chelsea Rooney
Sometimes shocking in its candour, yet charmed with enigmatic characters, Pedal explores how we are shaped by accidents of timing — trauma and sex, brain chemistry and the landscape of our country — and challenges beliefs we hold dear about the nature of pedophilia, the essence of innocence and the idea that the past is something one runs from. (From Caitlin Press)
From the book
I twisted a cap off a bottle and threw it into the fire. We watched the sparks. The beer went down like water. The firelight pumped like a red heart in the night. I said, "Let's bring Sally to the beach tomorrow."
Smirks didn't respond, didn't move, didn't look at me. I could imagine them together. In the canoe. In the middle of the lake. Where no one could see. Where no one was watching. I could picture her sitting in his lap and Smirks reaching in between her legs. I could see it all. I could see it happening. It could happen, and then what? And then nothing. And then nothing. Nothing would happen to Sally. She would not be afraid. She would not be hurt.
Smirks didn't respond, didn't move, didn't look at me. I could imagine them together. In the canoe. In the middle of the lake. Where no one could see. Where no one was watching. I could picture her sitting in his lap and Smirks reaching in between her legs. I could see it all. I could see it happening. It could happen, and then what? And then nothing. And then nothing. Nothing would happen to Sally. She would not be afraid. She would not be hurt.
From Pedal by Chelsea Rooney ©2015. Published by Caitlin Press.