Jennifer Covent

Two Blocks, Bloor: a Novel Jennifer Covent

Two Blocks, Bloor is an unlikely coming of age story, of a not-so-young couple as they come to grips with an unfamiliar adult world. The main characters in this book all live and/or work within two blocks from each other on Toronto's Bloor Street-the dividing line between real downtown dwellers, and mid-city inhabitants. Full of wacky hijinks, the novel takes you to a hair salon's grand opening, the psych ward at the local hospital, the Metro detention centre, a Laundromat, and a house in Maple where people go to obtain the mysterious drug, Vitamin C-plus. At the onset, we meet Misty Rivers-an immature watercolour artist who is ruled by an overbearing suburban mother. She meets Truman, or as he likes to be called, T-Man. Together they encounter Greta, an alcoholic hair salon owner, and her wacky sister Roberta. After the disaster, which is the grand opening of Greta's hair Salon, Misty is mistakenly sent to the psych ward. The characters are largely people without ambition or the drive to be better people. This comedy illuminates how misfits like Misty and Truman can find love in Toronto-the world's meeting place.