My most anticipated book of 2024 was COEXISTENCE by Billy-Ray Belcourt since I loved A Minor Chorus so much I read it five times. I was so lucky to receive this galley from my friend Cameron the publicist and I’m currently reading it for the second time because it’s so moving. This is one of my fave books! I’m in awe of how beautiful this writing is where each sentence is tender. I loved the themes of family, motherhood, love, grief, men in love and Queer Cree joy. I loved all ten stories and this book made me cry more than once. I love the poetic use of language and how each story is emotional in its own way. I’m a proud member of the BRB fan club as commemorated by the bracelet that I made.

When I requested to view this book, I was excited at the idea of delving into Indigenous characters and experiences, as I have always felt like literature that centres them is lacking. However, what I failed to notice was that "Coexistence" is made up of stories instead, and I was a bit sceptical because I do not tend to read collections for fear of a lack of connection.
Well, if you have the same scepticism, leave that behind and make an exception for " Coexistence", I truly mean it. Belcourt writes a kaleidoscope of human experiences, of settings, of beautiful sentences that will make you reconsider your stance on short stories.

These characters and their experiences are vastly different, but there are two common threads that the author clearly highlights and uses as fil rouge: indigeneity and loneliness. Now, we can see these two themes as one and the same, as if being indigenous in a colonial space is intrinsically a lonely experience, or we can interpret them as being two "conditions" that orbit each other but are not necessarily dependant on each other. I believe it is up to the reader.
"Coexistence" also tries to combat this psychological loneliness that affects its characters, as well as theorise the use of language and spaces to fight the physical loneliness that Indigenous people face while both living near their native reservations and far from them.
Nevertheless, as I said before, the author's characters are still relatable to non-Indigenous readers, the theme of loneliness, of loss of identity is a universal one, especially in a world both as connected and disconnected as ours.

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time, no one breaks your heart quite like Billy-Ray Belcourt, that’s for sure.

The writing is sublime, characterised by beautiful prose, rich languid language, finely detailed reminiscences, picturesque framing.

These stories are beautiful, heartfelt, tragic, wistful explorations of lived experience. Some had me gasping at their beauty, and their tragedy. Some brought me practically to tears.

They all, without exception, show an exquisite tenderness for and between their characters.
I felt like I was living these stories.

Short story collections are often hit or miss for me, and while there were a couple stories in here that didn’t work as well for me, there were so many fantastic ones and the collection worked so well overall. At the heart of each story, there is a relationship, whether that’s between a dying mother and her son, two men falling in love, or a long-term relationship falling apart. Coexistence is such a perfect title for this collection as it examines how people coexist, how ideas coexist, and how things that are seemingly at odds coexist, and it’s written in the most gorgeous prose. There was something so poetic about the full circle way in which the first and last stories feature the same relationship, the mother and son, that really sold it as a collection for me.

Billy-Ray Belcourt's Coexistence is a beautiful collection of short stories that had me in tears by the end. His writing is honest and vulnerable, and I really enjoyed how some of the stories connect to one another.

As a big fan of Billy-Ray Belcourt’s work I was beyond excited for the release of Coexistence and it did not disappoint. A beautiful collection of short stories with some of them being intertwined by sharing characters but switching time and point of view. Especially the first and the last story are the most gorgeous beginning and ending, making the book feel really whole with a satisfying but tearful closing. Contrary to how collections often feel, this one does not have any weak point, every story fits perfectly and compliments the emotional flow of reading. It’s gentle, tender and intimate, might even make you shed a few tears! It’s Belcourt’s writing at its finest with reflections on love, queerness, loneliness, grief and generational trauma of indigenous peoples. The prose is poetic but has a certain simplicity to it, certain rawness even. There are so many lines I wanted to underline and remember forever. I will definitely be coming back to this book.

Coexistence is a collection of stories from the incredible writer Billy-Ray Belcourt. Some chapters/stories link to others in the collection, while others are standalone, but each character we meet grapples with the concept of coexistence. Many of the stories take place in Northern Alberta, and many characters grapple with the unique experience of being queer in the Prairies, which also intersects with their Indigenous identities. Belcourt beautifully displays a wide range of human emotion that invokes feelings in the reader in such a meaningful way.
In my opinion, Belcourt is one of the most intriguing writers out there, and I will gladly read anything he writes. As someone who grew up in Alberta this book also made me appreciate the beauty and discomfort that comes with becoming a person there.
There is something for everyone in this book. Belcourt is a powerhouse that we should all continue to pay attention to.
Thank you to Billy-Ray Belcourt, Penguin, and NetGalley for this free ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review!

This is a short story collection where the main character in each is an Indigenous man. Often queer. Often an artist. When specified, usually Cree from Northern Alberta. Often relocated to Vancouver at least temporarily.

Even when the biographical details were different, each character's voice felt familiar. It seemed a bit like I was reading a collection of possible lives of one person.

The themes ranged from relationships with parents to marriage to having children to choosing not to have children. Some decided to live on the rez and some lived in cities. Some delved into casual sex facilitated by apps while others consciously, anxiously avoided it.

I usually have a hard time getting into short story collections, as it's such an investment to learn new characters and new locations. The similarities between these stories made this effortless.

Every time a story ended it was like a punch in the gut. I needed to know what happened next and I now wouldn't. I want these stories to be the start of just as many full-length novels.

This book was incredibly easy for me to connect with despite being a having little in common with the characters. The book also didn't feel like it was written with a White settler like me in mind, in the best possible way. It didn't overexplain anything about being Indigenous or queer. The author just told his stories and I was swept along.

What a stunning collection. Belcourt's writing is both beautiful and gripping. I was invested from the first story to the last. The collection is perfectly bookended with Louise's stories. Upon finishing the last story, I immediately returned to the first and reread it.

I enjoyed Belcourt's writing in his first book A Minor Chorus. However, something was missing for me and I couldn't identify it. Then, during the story "Summer Research", I realized what it was when I read the following line: "I wanted desperately to be an intellectual, but all my curiosities were personal." I had found his first book to be very intellectual. The writing was beautiful but I felt no connection to it. In contrast, each of these stories, regardless of the nature of the main character, was so personal and rarely did I not have some kind of emotional reaction to the character's circumstances.

Included in this collection is a story that is simply terrifying; made more so by the fact that I was not expecting it. Unexpected but completely believable. Who puts a horror story in the middle of a collection of literary stories? Billy-Ray Belcourt, that's who.

A stunning new collection from Billy-Ray Belcourt. I have devoured everything he has ever written and will continue to do so. His mastery of language and ability to squeeze the depth and bredth of the human condition into such stark and tender prose is a gift.

I rationed these stories out over a number of days but almost wish I hadn't - they connect with each other more than I had anticipated, and I ended up going straight back to the start to reread. I loved Louise's full circle moment, although the standout for me was Lived Experience. I look forward to reexploring these stories in a physical format.

A beautiful collection of interconnected short stories about love, connection, loneliness and identity: the author's prose is tender and delicate and lends itself gorgeously to the stories' themes.

As with every collection of this kind, some stories resonated more with me than others, but I can’t say that any of them lacked emotion and not a page of this felt wasted.

absolutely brilliant and incredibly well written. every story has a soul and we connect with it. this was my first book by Billy-Ray Belcourt and now I have to read them all.
(full review to come on bookstagram)