In Andrew Kaufman's New Short Story Collection, A Small Town Motel Can't Help but Transform Each and Every Guest

Award-winning, bestselling author Andrew Kaufman returns with Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel (Coach House Books), an absurdist collection of short fiction that will challenge and delight readers in equal measure. They are linked stories that "explore the intersection of personality and desire, love and lust, (and) the joy and sadness of being alive and in love."

Wind your way through the concession roads of a rural Ontario town and, if you are very lost, you may end up at the Shamrock Motel. There are no reservationa, and cash is preferred, and, no matter what, all of the motel's guest will experience a transformation during their stay. Whether they are accidentally sleeping with a bear, turning into an actual river, or becoming far too closely acquainted with the sun, the guests here are on a bizarre and heartfelt journey toward possible redemption. And all of this on top of the heated pool, cable TV, and Rosemary, the unforgettable owner and proprietor who holds the keys to each and every room. 

We're delighted to delve deeper into this mysterious place, and to find out more about the inspiration for the collection, in this Keep It Short interview with the author!

Open Book:

What do the stories have in common? Do you see a link between them, either structurally or thematically?

Andrew Kaufman:

Every story starts in a different place, but they all end on the same hot day in August, in a room at the Shamrock Motel.

OB:

How did you decide which story would be the title story of your collection? Why that story in particular?

AK:

There is no epiphodious story in this collection, but “Enjoy Your Stay at the Shamrock Motel," is not the original title. The original title was so dirty that even Coach House made me change it.

OB: 

Do you think your characters have anything in common with each other, from story to story?

AK:

All the characters in these stories are on the edge of some great bit of self-discovery that will change their life forever. The flip side of that is they’re all stuck and losing hope. All they need is just a little push, which the Shamrock Motel is more than happy to provide.

OB:

What do you enjoy most about writing short fiction? What is the toughest part?

AK:

These are actually the first short stories I’ve ever written. The first I’ve let other people read, anyway. I’ve always been intimidated to write short stories. I think part of this is having grown up in the same small town as Alice Monro. I absolutely love them now that I’ve got a bit more confidence with them. Short stories, especially linked short stories may be the only thing I write from here on in.   

OB:

Did you do any specific research for any of your stories? Tell us a bit about that process.

AK: 

All of these stories involve some kind of crazy sexual situation—consensual, but bizarre, in a cheap motel room. That’s all I can legally disclose.

OB:

What was the strangest or most memorable moment or experience during the writing process for you?

AK:

I have this amazing friend, Carl Knudsen. I gave him the first draft, expecting nothing but praise, and he said --  this is verbatim, “These really aren’t working. I feel like you’ve given me a bunch of endings but no beginnings or middles.” So I’m blessed to have a friend good enough and courageous enough to tell me a hard truth. Carl was 100% right. I rewrote every story in the collection and gave it to Alana Wilcox, my editor at Coach House, also expecting nothing but praise and she said, “I feel like you’ve given me a bunch of middles and endings but no beginnings.” No joke. The result is that, with every story, the last thing written was the beginning and the first thing written was the ending.

OB:

Who did you dedicate your collection to, and why?

AK:

I dedicated the collection to Shannon Cameron, my special lady friend and the main inspiration for Rosemary Liszt the owner operator of the Shamrock Motel.

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Andrew Kaufman was born in Wingham, Ontario, making him the second-most-famous Canadian writer to come from Wingham (after Alice Munro, of course). He is the author of international bestseller All My Friends are Superheroes, The Waterproof Bible, ReLit Award-winner The Tiny Wife, and Born Weird, which was named a Best Book of the Year by The Globe and Mail and was shortlisted for the Leacock award for humor. He lives and writes in Toronto.