- The Globe and Mail says:
Daria Salamon has written a funny, dark, quirky take on one woman's epic struggle with the harsh realities of adult life. Like U.S. novelist Lorrie Moore, Salamon deftly combines humour and pathos to great effect. - The Winnipeg Free Press says :
Salamon's talent shines in her lively and authentically depicted characters. But the true highlight of the novel is the wit, cynicism and insight that Salamon gives Anna. In fact, Salamon's sharp prose and wicked wit imbue the novel with a tone similar to that of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, the bestselling 1999 short story collection by American Melissa Bank -- still one of the best in the chick-lit genre.
Read the whole review - The Uniter - University of Winnipeg Weekly
Nothing in The Prairie Bridesmaid perfectly fits the mould of tradition poured by the likes of Giffin et al. – which is what makes it such a standout debut. Salamon has raised the bar on chick-lit with a thorny bouquet of razor-sharp wit, misguided relationships dripping with irony and a heroine who for once is just as forlorn as the rest of us.
Read the whole review - The Prairie Bridesmaid is a witty, sardonic, and touching story
of self-discovery leading to liberation. Daria Salamon’s writing
is like a breath of fresh Winnipeg air.”
NIA VARDALOS, screenwriter and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding - “I was knocked over by this novel. It’s funny and has
a wonderful voice and heart. Every bit as entertaining as A Complicated
Kindness—I laughed my ass off.”
STEVEN GALLOWAY, author of Ascension and The Cellist of Sarajevo - “In reading this book, I was touched and inspired. It is original
and well-written and points to a reality both relevant and poignant
for women with whom I share a generation. Daria Salamon writes
with wit and compassion and manages to dignify the thoughts, emotions
and sometimes treacherous turns that are part of growing up as
women in Canada.”
CHANTAL KREVIAZUK, singer - “Daria Salamon adeptly crosses genres and displays an abundance
of literary savvy in The Prairie Bridesmaid. Daria manages an
impressive balance between angst and wit, between a serious treatment
of the ravages of a love relationship gone brutal and a humorous take
on the vanities and shortcomings of a young woman who is mired in
the muck of her own making.”
MARJORIE ANDERSON, editor of Dropped Threads and Dropped Threads 2 - “From the first page of The Prairie Bridesmaid you can’t
help but to care about Anna and her life. Although the tone of Daria
Salamon’s novel is cheerful, the story is darker and deftly
told. Salamon is a skilled writer, keeping a tight rein on the emotional
depth of The Prairie Bridesmaid. This is chick-lit for grown-ups.
And it’s good.”
ALICE KUIPERS, author of Life on the Refrigerator Door
Review from Quill & Quire Magazine:
Anna Lasko has had a bad decade. First she fell in love with a guitar-toting artist with a penchant for emotional abuse. Then she found herself head of her high school English department, despite constant fantasies about pulling the fire alarm to escape her students. Now in her thirties, she's looking back at her missed twenties, as well as forward toward a future that's suddenly entirely uncertain.
While Adam, Lasko's partner in destructive cohabitation, is away in Germany, she sees her window of opportunity to break free from their miserable life together. But like any bad addiction, her relationship won't disappear without some nauseating withdrawal symptoms. Enter Anna's crew of straight-talking Winnipegger pals - dubbed the Emotional Mafia - who resolve to keep Anna's nostalgia for her dying relationship in check. They have their work cut out for them.
The unexpected detours Daria Salamon takes in this, her first novel, are the most tender and funny parts of the book, giving colour to the simple storyline. Anna's unofficial support team includes a squirrel who offers sage advice while gorging on nuts, and her cantankerous Baba, who refuses to abandon her annual chicken slaughter despite being mostly blind. Even the crusty misfits in Anna's lunch-hour creative writing class make up a hilariously drawn sidebar.
The novel moves quickly, and is full of snappy dialogue and offbeat humour. At times, Salamon gets tied up describing emotional minutiae that's far less interesting than the story's more current events - frequent comparisons of the relationship's ill health to everything from a bedraggled Christmas tree to a stained toilet, for instance, aren't necessary to drive home the sad state of affairs.
In the end, though, Salamon's debut is a quirky, witty salute to that exhausting project of finding out who you are - and who you're not - no matter how many bottles of cheap Merlot it takes.
Reviewed by Caroline Skelton (from the July 2008 issue)
