“Armstrong gives us a generous novel, a heartfelt guidebook for that foggy, liminal place where we struggle to find ourselves, rail against becoming some unwanted inevitable, and eventually find that place within, where we are. This is the best kind of fiction, honest and open, a gift to the reader.”
—Bradley Somer, award winning author of Fishbowl and We Are All of Us Left Behind.
It’s the turn of the 21st century and Maggie is looking for reinvention. Fresh out of art school with—as her undergraduate advisor put it—a lack of vision for her future, Maggie follows a talented classmate to Japan, leaving behind a fractured family, and a toxic relationship with her professor. Little does she know, not only her own life, but the entire world around her is about to change. Upon arrival in Japan, Maggie meets a group of maladjusted foreigners and immediately becomes enmeshed in their volatile friendships and personal dramas. Despite having no real qualifications whatsoever, she gets a job teaching English at Language Love Academy where she meets Keiko, an overzealous, middle-aged student and self-proclaimed language lover. When Keiko offers to teach Maggie Japanese, an unlikely friendship develops between them, and before long Keiko has become a ballast amid the disruptive forces in Maggie’s life overseas. Have Maggie and her friends come to Japan to disappear or find themselves? Are their friendships and hook-ups real or just another illusion? Maggie struggles to discern whether she is sinking deeper into her hapless life abroad or gaining a foothold on a real future for herself.
Welcome to Sunny Town is a striking, at times darkly satirical novel that cracks open a popular rite of passage, critically examining teaching overseas and the worldwide ESL industry. Armstrong paints a deft portrait of twenty-somethings yearning for identity, connection, and freedom abroad during the turbulent years of the early aughts.
“Théodora Armstrong’s debut collection launches House of Anansi Press’s new short-fiction imprint, Astoria, in impressive fashion. This is a writer to watch, and a book not to be missed… These darkly intimate and subtly heartbreaking pieces are pure pleasure to read. Armstrong is an electrifying new voice on the short fiction scene.”
—Stacey Madden, Quill and Quire
“Armstrong’s tales are indeed satisfying; the book is delicious from start to finish…Her gritty realism and rich, crisp prose have been compared to that of Raymond Carver and Flannery O’Connor. High praise indeed.”
—Michelle Lalonde, Montreal Gazette
Set against the divergent landscape of British Columbia — from the splendours of nature to its immense dangers, from urban grease and grit, to dry, desert towns — Clear Skies, No Wind, 100% Visibility examines human beings and their many frailties with breathtaking insight and accuracy.
Théodora Armstrong peoples her stories with characters as richly various — and as compelling — as her settings. A soon-to-be father and haute cuisine chef mercilessly berates his staff while facing his lack of preparedness for parenthood. A young girl revels in the dark drama of the murder of a teen in her neighbourhood. A novice air-traffic specialist must come to terms with his first loss — the death of a pilot — on his watch. And the dangers of deep canyons and powerful currents spur on the reckless behaviour of teenagers as they test the limits of bravery, friendship, and sex.
Théodora Armstrong 