The Woodchipper - by Joe Ollmann (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An award-winning cartoonist confronts anxiety and regret

A long-time city maintenance worker keeps pulling an accident prone newbie's fat out of the fire or maybe in this case, an arm and another arm and a leg out of the woodchipper. What happens when NOTHING HAPPENS? Can a disaster averted still be a disaster?

In "Nestled All Snug," frazzled bookstore clerk Sasha prepares to close the store and head home to watch Hallmark Christmas specials after a fight with her boyfriend means she's home alone for the holidays. Hmm, that stack of boxes outside the bathroom seems a little precarious. Maybe Sasha will do returns when she gets back to work post-holidays. FWUMP FWUMP FWUMP. Guess someone is going to regret leaving their phone by the register before going to the bathroom.

In The Woodchipper, Joe Ollmann, cartoonist of the groundbreaking Governor General Award finalist Fictional Father, returns with a suite of comic short stories focused on his trademark nervous wreck characters caught in a series of escalating personal disasters. Everybody's doing their best. Everybody's just trying to get through the day.

Review Quotes

"Though no one does galumphing human failure better than Ollmann, thankfully his tongue is also ever in his cheek." --The Guardian, Best Books of 2021

"Portraying the aimless, alcoholic son of an aloof, philandering cartoonist, Ollmann blends jovial grotesquerie with a surprising generosity of spirit." --The Globe & Mail, Best Books of 2021

"Readers--especially those with a keen interest in the history and mechanics of comics--will appreciate Ollmann's formal playfulness and emotional honesty." --Shelf Awareness

About the Author