In which I discuss the skinny volumes which accompany me on my travels, while the heavier volumes (like Stephen King's It and an omnibus of Shirley Jackson's short works) remain at home. On a late August afternoon, I'm taking the Queen Street streetcar, in the stretch between Beach and Parliament,
It's not quite as bad as Edith's dreams. Not quite. But almost. And that's because Suzette Mayr has a way of writing that pricks beneath the skin. "That night Edith dreams of hares. Hares hanging by their necks, throttled by catgut in a thicket of trees. Someone has executed
Reading this story might change your reading life forever. That's what happened to Peter Orner, whose essay on Mavis Gallant's stories is mesmerizing: "The Way Vivid, Way Underappreciated Short Stories of Mavis Gallant", published in The Atlantic's "By Heart" series. "The first story I read is called 'The Ice Wagon
Besides Lori McNulty's Life on Mars and Mavis Gallant's stories, I've been dabbling in some other collections this year too. Edwidge Danticat's Krik? Krak! (1996) Drawn from a number of literary magazines and publications (including 1994's Pushcart Prize collection), these tales were gathered together to satisfy the readers who yearned
Many of Margaret Millar's characters have had an escape, often in the face of difficulty. Robert has achieved the ultimate escape - he has disappeared - and readers wonder whether that was deliberate or accidental, malicious or ambitious. "The world of Robert’s maps was nice and flat and simple. It
