Author Description

Winner of the 1997 Howard O’Hagan Short Fiction Award! “In the Diamond, at the end of a long green vinyl aisle between two booths of chrome, Naugahyde, and Formica, are two large swinging wooden doors, each with a round hatch of face-sized window. Those kitchen doors can be kicked with such a slap they’re heard all the way up to the soda fountain.” This story of family and identity, migration and integration, culture and self-discovery is told through family history, memory, and the occasional recipe. Diamond Grill is a rich banquet where Salisbury steak shares a menu with chicken fried rice, and bird’s nest soup sets the stage for Christmas plum pudding; where racism simmers behind the shiny clean surface of the action in the cafe. An exciting new edition of Fred Wah’s best-selling bio-fiction, on the 10th anniversary of its original publication, with an all new afterword by the author and the same pagination as the original publication. Diamond Grill is the third title in NeWest Press’s Landmark Editions series. Landmark Editions are previously published works by established and recognized western Canadian authors that will enjoy new life in this series. Playing Dead by Rudy Wiebe was the first book and The Almost Meeting by Henry Kreisel was the second in the Landmark Editions Series. NeWest is proud to offer this series as a strong addition to the heritage of Western Canadian literature.