ManBug

The first novel by George K. Ilsley, whose first story collection, Random Acts of Hatred, was published to acclaim in 2004. Told in dream-like fragments, ManBug unfolds as a love story between Sebastian, an entomologist with Asperger’s Syndrome, and Tom, a spiritual bisexual who may or may not be recruiting Sebastian for a cult. They navigate their relationship as damaged goods, seeking meaning and value in themselves through the other; they also try to avoid the inevitable toxins around them, both real and imagined—like bugs avoiding insecticide—while asking the question, Just how much poison can any of us absorb? ManBug is a beguiling, tragicomic novel about beauty, horror, desire, and what lurks just beneath the skin.

George K. Ilsley is the author of the story collection Random Acts of Hatred (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2004); his stories have also appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. He has biked around the Adriatic, hitchhiked to Mexico, ambled through the Himalayas, and taught English in Tokyo. He now lives in Vancouver.