Skip to product information
1 of 1

Nothing Looks Familiar

Nothing Looks Familiar

Regular price $15.95
Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.
By Shawn Syms Sharp-eyed tales about outsiders, non-conformists, and iconoclasts. In Nothing Looks Familiar, Shawn Syms' debut story collection, characters from a wide swath of society chart paths from places...

Shipping & tax calculated at checkout.

Estimated delivery between Saturday, November 7 and Monday, November 16

details & Features

By Shawn Syms

Sharp-eyed tales about outsiders, non-conformists, and iconoclasts.

In Nothing Looks Familiar, Shawn Syms' debut story collection, characters from a wide swath of society chart paths from places of danger or unhappiness into the great unknown, each grappling with a central and sometimes unanswerable question: if you fight to change your circumstances, could it be possible to reconfigure your very identity? From bullied kids to meth-smoking mothers, characters in dire straits take measures―sometimes drastic ones―to take charge of their own fates.

With a particular focus on the lives of the downtrodden and marginalized, Nothing Looks Familiar marries a vivid and distinct sense of place―the sights and smells of a meatpacking plant; a church-basement meeting hall full of sexual abusers―with universal themes such as the nature of friendship and relationships, and the configuration of the self. In this book, men and women alike struggle to cope, to survive, and to transform their surroundings; each of them is determined to come out the other side changed. In these richly drawn, deeply nuanced stories, nothing may look familiar, but everything is up for grabs.

Paperback: 182 pages
Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press (Aug. 15 2014)
ISBN-13: 978-1551525709
Product Dimensions: 13.7 x 1.3 x 20.1 cm

    Shipping, Returns & Exchanges

    Free shipping on Canadian orders over $100. Flat-rate shipping is available for smaller orders and for US customers, with delivery in 1-10 business days. US orders include duties and taxes calculated at checkout. Every order ships in plain, unmarked packaging with no reference to contents, and you'll get a tracking link as soon as it's out the door.

    Defective items are covered for 30 days, with select brands warrantied up to 15 years. Due to the personal nature of our products, items are final sale unless defective, no returns or exchanges.

    Pairs Well With

    View full details
    On Davie

    Come find us.

    Free parking, in-store pickup, and free shipping on orders over $100.
    Your Privacy

    Plain outside.

    Ships in unmarked cardboard. What's inside stays between us.
    Discreet Billing

    Low profile.

    Purchases appear as 'Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium
    Our Quality

    Built to last.

    Defective items covered for 30 days, select brands up to 15 years.
    Recently Viewed

    Worth a second look

      TRIED, TESTED, TRUSTWORTHY.

      Discover your vibe

      EXPLORE ALL
      New Cutting Edge: Hockey as Queer Culture
      BEST SELLER Bless This Hot Mess: A Sinfully Funny Story
      The Long Game
      Rachel Reid

      The Long Game

      Thia: an Eldritch Yuri Slice of Life
      Heated Rivalry
      Rachel Reid

      Heated Rivalry

      The B-Side Of Daniel Garneau
      The Tiger and the Cosmonaut
      Sarah's Secret Christmas Wish
      Pillow Talk: Real People. Real Stories. Real Awkward.
      Hung Jury: Testimonies of Genital Surgery by Transsexual Men
      Mario Testino. SIR. 45th Ed.
      Night Sky With Exit Wounds
      The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir
      Oh Yeah: A Bear Poetry Anthology
      The Pink Marine
      Greg Cope White

      The Pink Marine

      The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir
      The Pink Marine
      Greg Cope White

      The Pink Marine

      Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!
      You Better Believe I'm Gonna Talk About It
      The Secret To Superhuman Strength
      My Solo Exchange Diary Vol. 1
      How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir
      Boy Erased: A Memoir of Identity, Faith, and Family
      Hung Jury: Testimonies of Genital Surgery by Transsexual Men
      The Stonewall Reader
      Edmund White & New York Public Library

      The Stonewall Reader

      The History of Sexuality: An Introduction
      The ABC's Of LGBT+
      Ashley Mardell

      The ABC's Of LGBT+

      Magic Lessons
      Joseph Sadusky

      Magic Lessons

      Free To Be
      Jack Turban

      Free To Be

      A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns
      Archie Bongiovanni & Tristan Jimerson

      A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns

      Gender Failure
      Rae Spoon and Ivan E. Coyote

      Gender Failure

      How to They/Them: A Visual Guide to Nonbinary Pronouns and the World of Gender Fluidity
      Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood
      The Queens' English
      Chloe O. Davis

      The Queens' English

      How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler's Memoir
      We Have Always Been Here
      What's Your Pronoun?: Beyond He & She
      Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities
      Jos Twist & Ben Vincent & Meg-John Barker & Kat Gupta

      Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities

      Pageboy: A Memoir (Softcover)
      Hell Yeah Self-Care!: A Trauma-Informed Workbook
      Playing Well With Others
      Lee Harrington and Mollena Williams

      Playing Well With Others

      Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood
      More Shibari You Can Use
      Lee Harrington, RiggerJay

      More Shibari You Can Use

      Emergent Strategy
      adrienne maree brown

      Emergent Strategy

      How to Understand Your Gender: A Practical Guide for Exploring Who You Are
      Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good
      This Book Is Gay
      Juno Dawson

      This Book Is Gay

      Our Story: Coming out in the time of HIV and AIDS
      Swimming in the Dark
      Tomasz Jedrowski

      Swimming in the Dark

      Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities
      Jos Twist & Ben Vincent & Meg-John Barker & Kat Gupta

      Non-Binary Lives: An Anthology of Intersecting Identities

      Pageboy: A Memoir (Softcover)
      How to Be Ace: A Memoir of Growing Up Asexual
      The Heart's Invisible Furies
      The ABC's Of LGBT+
      Ashley Mardell

      The ABC's Of LGBT+

      A Family Outing: A Memoir
      Ruby Remenda Swanson

      A Family Outing: A Memoir

      I Wish You All The Best
      BEST SELLER What's the T? The Guide to All Things Trans and/or Nonbinary
      The Big O: Multiple Male and Female Orgasm
      Othniel J Seiden MD & Jane L Bilett PhD

      The Big O: Multiple Male and Female Orgasm

      Love Satisfies: How to have infinite male multiple orgasms
      By Keepitup Johnson, illustrated by S J B

      Love Satisfies: How to have infinite male multiple orgasms

      The Ultimate Guide to Seduction & Foreplay: Techniques and Strategies for Mind-Blowing Sex
      The History of Sexuality: An Introduction
      EXPLORE ALL
      Nothing Looks Familiar

      Nothing Looks Familiar

      $15.95