Tiny Grievances

Tiny Grievances is a collection of mostly gay-themed short stories and a novella, “Inside The Scar Circle.” Thomson returns to familiar, fertile ground with these stories about troubled and failing urban lives, fractured families, broken friendships, community, questioning the status quo, belonging, ageing, and the search for love in a world geared toward quick fixes. “At turns uproariously funny, poignant and genuinely moving, these stories take you deep into the souls of everyday people trying to survive. Accomplished, assured and gripping, Robert Thomson’s Tiny Grievances tears apart the hilarity, humiliation and tragedy of human tribulation. From a genteel aunt exhibiting odd behaviour to a man stalking a former lover even as he knows he shouldn’t, Thomson’s characters are real, biting and very memorable.” (Jared Mitchell, author of Mayhem and Becky Chan) “The Ballad Of Aunt Stabby” chronicles a disastrous dinner party as two pretentious hosts try to distract their misfit guests from an opinionated aunt who arrives beaten and bleeding. “I’ll Wait Here.” Two friends with benefits find themselves at a casual crossroads when one man loses his job and the other, surprisingly, is empathetic and supportive about the situation. “Smoking.” It’s about the urge that makes you want to smoke. “Three Words Away” is about lost love and regret. After more than a decade, a man spots an ex-lover and gets caught up in an imaginary reunion. “Hide Everything” details the ripple effect caused by a gay man’s failed suicide attempt. “Stalking Harold Greenbaum” is a dramatic comedy about how the friendship between two middle-aged women is shattered when one of them renovates herself in order to win the love of a co-worker. In “This Functional Family” an introverted gay man must stand up against his conniving sociopathic sister when the two reunite after the death of their step-mother. A long-distance S/M relationship is on the rocks and “Platform” reveals the inner workings of the slave as he contemplates ending the relationship with his Master. “Tiny Grievances.” Two childhood friends are reunited; both are raw and broken and neither one of them is in a position to help the other. “Stopping Quitting” chronicles one man’s attempt to stop smoking by exploring semantics and undergoing a spiritual awakening. “Inside The Scar Circle” is a novella about friendship, community, alienation, and which cocktail goes with what outfit. After a failed relationship, a loner, on vacation in Puerto Vallarta, finds himself part of a clique and begins to examine his identity as a gay man.