Overview: Adam Brinkert was raised a world apart from the lights of Ottawa and the din of politics, in a small city in Northern Ontario. Pursuing justice and a way to make things better for the people he grew up with, he became an assistant to a Member of Parliament, living his youth in the offices and hallways of power. But, as he grows towards his 30’s, he begins to doubt what it was all for; were his experiences all merely for self-aggrandizement and not the greater good?

Verdict: Twists of fate and slights of political hand will test Adam’s belief in himself, and what he believes is right, while he navigates the landscape of a country, and a world, that is changing rapidly. All the while, he struggles to define his relationships with the people around him, including his erstwhile friend-cum-political rival Truss and his ex-girlfriend and co-worker Kathleen.

Adam’s journey will take him across the county and back to his home, searching for a spark to guide him where he truly belongs. Smaller Animals is a story of living, loving and growing up on Parliament Hill that introduces a powerful new voice in Canadian literature.

In what is an eagerly engrossing, and thoroughly captivating new novel from author Carter Vance, Smaller Animals may well be, at its formulaic heart, a story of living, loving and growing up on Parliament Hill that introduces a powerful new voice in Canadian literature, but trust me when I say that this novel is oh-so much more than that brief overview.

Our lead is Adam Brinkert, a man born and raised in a small city in Northern Ontario, and who pursues justice in a way that not only results in the people he touches having their lives made better, but in a form of empathic happiness, or compersion perhaps, he also gets to ride their wave of happiness.

Having lived his young adult life as an assistant to a Member of Parliament, his daily routine one of continually heard footsteps along the hallways of power, he begins to look within him, unknowingly searching for the next step, his grand evolution - all whilst trying to embody the model of providing more of the greater good for those round him.

Complete with twists of fate and slights of political hand that will test Adam’s belief in himself to the core, let alone those that he surrounds himself with, Smaller Animals: A Novel is a book a highly recommended to anyone who has a few nights spare to settle in with a solid, impeccably written, and dutifully emboldened new novel.

About the Author - Carter Vance is a writer and poet originally from Cobourg, Ontario, Canada currently resident in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. His work has appeared in such publications as The Smart Set, Contemporary Verse 2 and A Midwestern Review, amongst others. He was previously a Harrison Middleton University Ideas Fellow. His latest collection of poems, Places to Be, is currently available from Moonstone Arts Press.

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