“Grab Bag culls the best of the perverse and innocent world of Derek McCormack. The mystery of objects, the lyricism of neglected lives, the menace and nostalgia of the past—these are all ingredients in this weird and beautiful parallel universe.”
—Edmund White

“Boy, can Dennis Cooper find ’em! Grab Bag will grab you, all right; plain, simple, and hard.”
—John Waters, filmmaker

“Anyone interested in the more wicked, crafty and inventive forms of Canadian writing would be well advised to spend time with McCormack.”
—Toronto Star

“A rare treat . . . Weird, inventive, wonderful.”
—Jorge Morales, Village Voice

“The first U.S. outing for the sexy, edgy Canadian novelist, steered your way by the gratifyingly dark-souled Dennis Cooper.”
—The Advocate

“Every once in a while, however, I’ll find a novel . . . which serves as a reminder that there is relevance and substance out there. Derek McCormack’s Grab Bag is one of these rare gems.”
—Emily Schambra, Punk Planet

“McCormack’s prose is . . . remarkably and deceptively simple. Grab Bag grabs you in its steely grip almost without you noticing, and the hard, plain language delivers the stories straight to the core of your being.”
—Joe Storey-Scott, Gay Times

“A kaleidoscopic look at a world of cheap furbelows and carnival flash, a place where childlike wonder goes hand in hand with cruel cynicism, and where even the promise of heaven appears as tawdry as an eyeshadow case.”
—Ryan Brooks, Chicago Reader