From the Publisher
“Moonshine Promises delivers on its promise with characters and stories that are by turns loony, engaging, and seriously moving—often all in the same story. The concluding ‘Cycles’ succinctly shows Van Rys’s easy consciousness of the collection’s greater meaning as a coherent story cycle set in southwestern Ontario (fictional territory of Stephen Leacock, Robertson Davies, Alice Munro, and Margaret Atwood). These stories take readers on a most satisfying trip through life and love, failure and faith.”
—Gerald Lynch, author of The One and the Many: Canadian Short Story Cycles
“In Moonshine Promises, Van Rys gives us an irresistible collection of poignantly witty stories based on events of his own life, events that resonate with readers. His wordplay, ironic twists, character depictions, clever endings, and protagonist’s musings keep us fascinated. Like all unforgettable literary works, these show us what sort of creatures we are—entangled in our various love, marriage, and family predicaments.”
—Mary Dengler, English Professor emeritus, Dordt University
“With psychological deftness and linguistic play, John Van Rys’s linked collection of stories ranges over the whole mess and delight of the human experience through the small details of several Dutch Canadians bumbling through the decisions that come to make up a life; the whole shines brightly through its interlocking parts.”
—Liz Harmer, author of The Amateurs
“Moonshine Promises takes the reader on an exhilarating journey through one family’s life, dancing effortlessly between then and now and making us eager for what’s still to come. We laugh and struggle along with the narrator as he strives to be the best family man he can be, through marriage’s ups and downs and the epically baffling gift of parenthood. With glistening prose and a deft storyteller’s hand, Van Rys has crafted a worthwhile portrait of the ordinary and sublime, and we can’t help but feel lucky to be along for the ride.”
—Brent van Staalduinen, author of Boy and Nothing but Life
