I Am Claude François and You Are a Bathtub

Author: Stuart Ross

Publisher: Anvil Press (2022)

Stuart Ross’s sometimes poignant, sometimes outrageous third story collection deepens his exploration of the possibilities of the short story and narrative. A trio of tales probe fame through the lens of 1960s-70s French pop and disco icon Claude François; legendary Hollywood actor Lee Marvin saves the day, again and again; the citizens of a small town worship an all-knowing potato; a man dons a bib to devour his neighbour’s house; a tourist finds both love and a dead frog in Nicaragua; and, in one particularly educational anti-story, the author instructs readers in the art of writing the short story. In I Am Claude François and You Are a Bathtub, Ross, a veteran of the Canadian literary underground, unleashes his arsenal of pathos, absurdism, humour, and cantankerousness.