About the Author

Armin Wiebe is the recipient of the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction and the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award. He has five published novels, one play, and his short stories have appeared in numerous books and anthologies. A teacher for many years, Armin Wiebe is now retired and lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Nathan Dueck was born in Winnipeg in 1979. He has studied at the University of Manitoba and continues to revel in literature. Nathan loves song, portrait, and parody.

Reviews

"Armin Wiebe is a comic storyteller without equal in Canada today. Please hold your sides while reading."
--Robert Kroetsch"Armin Wiebe draws us into the funny, sad world of Yasch, and into a culture hidden from most of the literary scene. Until now. This is a wonderful, out of kilter book."
--Sandra Birdsell"This is Wiebe's first novel, and it's an impressive debut... He has brought to life a colorful world that seems from the outside to be tranquil and uneventful, but which has its own inner tensions and imperatives."
--The Globe and MailIn Winkler, it's said, The Salvation of Yasch Siemens is off the shelves but available under the counter. Some people seem to find the portrait of a people unflattering but it's clear they can't resist looking anyway. Though it's hard to determine precisely who all the buyers are, Yasch, in the few months it's been released, has become the fastest seller yet for Winnipeg's Turnstone Press."
--Doug Whiteway, Winnipeg Free Press"The Salvation of Yasch Siemens brings tears of laughter to the eyes, a pang to the heart, fellow feeling, and a sense of gratitude and admiration. One feels gratitude because someone who has gone perhaps somewhat the same route as the reader has taken the trouble to delineate the experience. and one cannot but admire the skill and attractiveness of the result."
--Henry Wiebe, The New Quarterly"As boisterously funny as it is, Wiebe displays an impressive sensitivity for his characters and their plights. He coyly undermines the woman's traditional place as obedient underling by creating strong female characters"
--Brian Geary, The Pembina Times"The greatness of this book takes it beyond the category of Mennonite literature, beyond the regional category of prairie literature, beyond the boundaries of Canadian literature"
--Debra Martens, Rubicon 4"Delightfully comic first novel"
--John Parr, Toronto Star