The son of Greek immigrants, Andreas Kessaris grew up in the Park Extension district of Montreal. He has a B.A. from Concordia University. His feature column, Read On! with Andreas Kessaris was a popular feature in The Local Herald. His work has appeared on Suite 101.com and Curtainsup.ca. He currently resides in the Town of Mont-Royal, Quebec.

The stories that Kessaris shares in the book are filled with humour, comedy, camaraderie, and plenty of pathos that will automatically create a deep feeling of empathy for the author in his endless pursuit of personal happiness.

- The Montreal Times

For Montrealers, the liberal use of local landmarks and street names helps contribute to the impression that we’ve been here before; over the course of the collection, he attends parties on Clark Street, peruses record stores on Ste. Catherine’s, and recalls childhood trips to the Fairview centre in Pointe-Claire and Les Galeries d’Anjou. But the sense of paramnesia goes beyond place names that exist on a map. Kessaris manages to convey a sense of shared history through the prose itself, bringing the Montreal immigrant experience to life with wry humour and painstaking attention to detail.

- Montreal Review of Books

The stories in The Butcher of Park Ex are sometimes irreverent, and at times even a little sad, but they’re always filled with humour and honesty. Andreas Kessaris tells it like it is and doesn’t shy away from self-deprecation. He could be the star of his own sitcom, a sort of Greek Anglo-Montrealer mix of Kramer and George in Seinfeld. If someone asked me which Greek God best represents Andreas, I would answer: “The one that couldn’t sit still, broke the mould, and doesn’t have his own statue."

- Montreal Noir

Kessaris is generous with his story-telling. His collection features 24 “semi-truthful tales,” each with a nice twist revealing the narrator’s personality in bite-size doses.

- The Ottawa Review of Books

Andreas Kessaris's collection of short stories will delight the reader. Each tale is a gem combining wit with deeper feelings drawn from life. After reading this book readers will wait impatiently for more from this talented writer.

- Richard King, CBC

- Cora Siré, author of Behold Things Beautiful

A bittersweet but charming coming of age look at the universal Montreal immigrant experience. Brimming with a yearning innocent nostalgia, it brings the rich street scene of Park Extension to life with painstaking attention to the telling detail.

- Tommy Schnurmacher, broadcaster and author of Makeup Tips From Auschwitz: How Vanity Saved My Mother’s Life