The Undertaking of Billy Buffone
The Undertaking of Billy Buffone
Fiction
Pub Date: April 17, 2021
5.5 X 8.5 in | 292 pgs
Trade Paperback: 9781988989334
e-pub: 9781988989341
2022 Winner AICW Bressani Literary Prize for Fiction
A vivid portrait of lives intertwined in the search for redemption amidst the uncovering of dormant truths a small town tried to bury.
In the spirit of The Boys of St.Vincent, award winning author David Giuliano creates a story of trauma, humour and redemption. Catherine, a newly minted preacher, moves to Twenty-Six Mile House, an isolated community in northern Ontario and befriends the quirky undertaker Billy Buffone who has a disturbing secret he has carried for almost two decades. Billy’s best friend, now deceased, leads the reader through the traumatic events of today and those from the never-forgotten past.
Praise for The Undertaking of Billy Buffone
"In The Undertaking of Billy Buffone, Giuliano conjures small town Northern Ontario, the shame that allows harm to carry on well past due, the way tragedies can overlap and intersect, as can our healing trajectories, bringing folks together in a universal human experience of loss and redemption."
— Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler, author, Wrist and Ghost Lake
"The Undertaking of Billy Buffone is a fearless journey into the troubled souls of the citizens of a northern Ontario town. The traumas simmering within this close-knit community are real, gritty — and often spiral into greater problems. One by one, each character discovers that life’s burdens cannot be carried alone forever; the cost is too great. Truths are revealed and shame loses its power. There is redemption."
— Jocelyn Bell, Editor/Publisher, Broadview
"In a narrative that unfolds like old time rock-n-roll Giuliano delivers a pitch-perfect, whip-smart glimpse into the lives of highly memorable characters in a small Northwestern Ontario town."
— Dayle Furlong, Lake Effect & Other Stories
Media
The undertaking of Billy Buffone by David Gioliano: The Miramichi Reader March 14, 2021
Cloud Lake Literary - Book Review, April 15, 2021
Northern author's debut Novel Wins fiction prize: CTV News
An Extended Review of The Undertaking of Billy Buffone, Faith Today Magazine, February 27, 2023
About the Author
David Giuliano is an award-winning writer of fiction and non-fiction. His first novel, The Undertaking of Billy Buffone (Latitude 46, 2021), was awarded the 2022 Bressani Prize for Fiction. It's Good to Be Here: Stories We Tell About Cancer is a memoir about the power of story to heal. Postcards from the Valley, a collection of essays, was a Canadian bestseller. He has also published two illustrated children's books. David lives on the north shore of Lake Superior. (www.davidgiuliano.ca)