Born Weird - Couverture souple

The Weirds have always been a little off, but not one of them ever suspected that they'd been cursed by their grandmother.
 
At the moment of the births of her five grandchildren Annie Weird gave each one a special power. Richard, the oldest, always keeps safe; Abba always has hope; Lucy is never lost and Kent can beat anyone in a fight. As for Angie, she always forgives, instantly. But over the years these so-called blessings ended up ruining their lives.
 
Now Annie is dying and she has one last task for Angie: gather her far-flung brothers and sisters and assemble them in her grandmother's hospital room so that at the moment of her death, she can lift these blessings-turned-curses. And Angie has just two weeks to do it.
 
What follows is a quest like no other, tearing up highways and racing through airports, from a sketchy Winnipeg nursing home to the small island kingdom of Upliffta, from the family's crumbling ancestral Toronto mansion to a motel called Love. And there is also the search for the answer to the greatest family mystery of all: what really happened to their father, whose maroon Maserati was fished out of a lake so many years ago?

“Kaufman’s stories are whimsical, gentle and reassuringly upbeat.... This novel rests firmly on a vision of hope and imagination.” |
—Patricia Dawn Robertson, The Globe and Mail
 
“Fantastical, quirky, full of wordplay, and laugh-out-loud funny.... With humour, sensitivity and insight, Kaufman reveals how we all spin fantasies to survive the setbacks in life. He creates extraordinary, unreal scenarios in which he is able [to] poignantly illuminate the very real pitfalls and pain of human connection.”
—The Chronicle Herald
 
“Kaufman has the enviable ability to zing his writing with humor. I often found myself laughing aloud at the Weirds’ fractured reality and the silliness that ensues.”
—Jennifer Hunter, Toronto Star
 
“With razor-sharp wit and...quirky characters, Andrew Kaufman’s novel conveys the importance of family through a delightful modern-day quest.”
—Chatelaine
 
“Spending time with the Weirds is enjoyable, and Kaufman has a gift for quick repartee among his characters.”
—Quill & Quire