{"product_id":"the-minotaur-takes-a-cigarette-break-9781837264018","title":"The Minotaur Takes A Cigarette Break","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn unusual and unforgettable take on what it means to be an outsider, an outcast, a misfit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eUNSETTLING ~ WRY ~ TENDER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn unusual and unforgettable take on what it means to be an outsider, an outcast, a misfit.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFive thousand years after having escaped Crete, the Minotaur finds himself deep in the American South, living in a trailer park and working as a line cook at Grub's Ribs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe leads a lonely life observing the haphazard human goings on around him, trying in vain to put his flesh-devouring past behind him. Socially inept, he is at best tolerated by mortals. But as his life dissolves into chaos, this broken and alienated immortal awakens to the possibility for happiness and capacity for connection.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781837264018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: Main - Cult Canons\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 06 Oct 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Canongate Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: Edinburgh, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 20.4(H)x13.5(L)x1.9(W)225\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 225\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eSteven Sherrill is the author of five novels, a collection of poetry and a banjo laden Minotaur heavy memoir. He earned a community college welding diploma and an MFA in Poetry from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Recently retired from Penn State University as Professor of English and Integrative Arts, he may spend the next decade making puppets.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003estevensherrill.com\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003eSad, funny, disturbing - and strangely true -- ANTHONY BOURDAIN\u003cbr\u003eA wry, melancholy, beautiful first novel . . . The language is everywhere precise and graceful . . . Genius *  * Guardian *  *\u003cbr\u003eBeautifully detailed and honed . . . a poetic testament to the wild, unchartable experience of human loving . . . Sherrill's vision is at once melancholy and deeply affirming. Somewhere in M's inchoate mass of sensation there exists a sharp spark of hope *  * Observer *  *\u003cbr\u003eImmaculate . . . Sherrill is a beautiful writer . . . he finds the drama to keep you reading, your heart in your mouth, to the conclusion's defiant roar of hope *  * Telegraph *  *\u003cbr\u003eAt once ugly, tender and hopeful . . . Sherrill's Minotaur allows for allusive readings but remains rootedly among us *  * Independent *  *\u003cbr\u003eExceptional . . . Steven Sherrill uses M as the vehicle for a finely observed and compassionate portrayal of humanity in all its guises *  * Irish Independent *  *\u003cbr\u003eAs Updike did with small-town pep rallies and broken-down cars, Sherrill finds a descriptive paradise in the mundanities of the Minotaur's reality: the rhythms of the restaurant kitchen, the mysterious pleasures of auto repair, even the stench of rotting dog at the trailer park, are palpable . . . Wise and ingenious *  * New York Times *  *\u003cbr\u003eM can't help being a mysterious figure, but this mythical creature cannot be projected onto - he is wholly real, and, just like us mortals, is haunted by his past and preoccupied with finally arriving in the present. Reading it feels like peacefully floating on your back and feeling the expanse of the ocean below you -- JEN CALLEJA\u003cbr\u003eThis is the most surreal slab of realism you will read all year. Unique and rather wonderful *  * Arena *  *\u003cbr\u003eSherrill's dense, poetic style never falters in its creation of a perfect metaphor for the eternal outsider -- CAROL BIRCH *  * Wall Street Journal *  *","brand":"Steven Sherrill","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50735566979289,"sku":"9781837264018","price":24.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781837264018.jpg?v=1792168797","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/the-minotaur-takes-a-cigarette-break-9781837264018","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}