Dirty Birds
Morgan Murray

In late 2008, as the world's economy crumbles and Barack Obama ascends to the White House, the remarkably unremarkable Milton Ontario – not to be confused with Milton, Ontario – leaves his parents' basement in middle-of-nowhere, Saskatchewan, and sets forth to find fame, fortune and love in the Euro-lite electric sexuality of Montreal; to bask in the endless 20-something millennial adolescence of the Plateau; to escape the infinite flatness of Saskatchewan and find his messiah – Leonard Cohen.
Hilariously ironic and irreverent, in Dirty Birds, Morgan Murray generates a quest novel for the 21st century — a coming-of-age, rom-com, crime-farce thriller — where a hero's greatest foe is his own crippling mediocrity as he seeks purpose in art, money, power, crime and sleeping in all day. (From Breakwater Books)
Morgan Murray is a writer from Alberta who now lives in Nova Scotia. Dirty Birds is his first novel.
Dirty Birds is on the Canada Reads 2021 longlist.
- 60 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in fall 2020
- The CBC Books fall 2020 reading list
- Morgan Murray's novel Dirty Birds is about the misadventures of a 'dull' everyman named Milton Ontario
Interviews with Morgan Murray



Comments
To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.
By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.
Become a CBC Member
Join the conversationCreate account
Already have an account?