Southern Exposure

Author: Helen Pereira
ISBN: 978-0-9782526-2-5

Synopsis

Southern Exposure is a fiction collection that throws lights and shadows on Canadians at work and play in Brazil, Cuba and Costa Rica. What makes these people change? Is it the heat? Is it the light? Or the magic chemistry in the mix of characters?

About the Author

Helen Pereira was born in British Columbia and has lived in Brazil, Ireland and the United States. She now lives in Mississauga where she was recently honoured by the Mississauga Arts Council as a Literary Arts Award Finalist. Her award-winning work has appeared in literary magazines throughout North and South America and has been listed in Best American Short Stories. She launches her fifth book, Southern Exposure, which includes short stories and novellas set in Brazil, Costa Rica and Cuba. Helen’s life-long literary passion and contributions extend beyond her own artistic endeavours and into the work of former students. She is a member of Writers’ Union of Canada.

Also by Helen Pereira: Magpie in the Tower (1990), The Home We Leave Behind (1992), Wild Cotton (1994) and Birds of Paradise (1997).

Customer Reviews:

Endorsements

“Pereira’s stories are well-crafted and satisfying . . . . She writes with generosity and understanding about family
relationships and her ear for dialogue and bursts of funny, unexpected observation are delightful.”

—Roger Burford Mason, Books in
Canada —Chris Knight, Literature and Language—Donna Bailey Nurse, The Globe and Mail

“One of Pereira’s greatest strengths is
her obvious affection for her characters . . . all are observed with love, with the kind of attention that is a form of love. Pereira cares enough
about them to try to get them right, and whole, and she succeeds.”

—Gary Draper, Books in Canada

“Pereira’s
prose moves back and forth from the bodies and clothing of her characters to their inner lives, often ironically at odds with each other . . . Pereira
manages to communicate themes of love and loss, aging and hope, very well indeed.”“Pereira’s protagonists — women, young and old — boast
unfettered, iconoclastic spirits . . . she quite poignantly portrays the verve and sensuality of aging women who retain their desire for passionate
lives.”

—Chris Knight, Literature and Language

“I have enjoyed Helen Pereira’s work since the publication of
her magical novella, Magpie in the Tower in 1990. Three evocative story collections followed. Southern Exposure contains new work set in Brazil, Cuba
and Costa Rica. The quality of this fiction will attract many new readers as well as retain admirers of previous collections.”
/> —Helen Fogwill Porter, Author of January, February, June and July and Finishing School