Peril of the Short Story is an aspect of RIP which I often neglect, despite my best intentions. Not so, this year. First, MOONSHOT, which is edited by Hope Nicholson for AH Comics (Alternative History) contains many elements which suit this reading season. First,"The Qallupiluk: Forgiven" which was originally published in
In which I discuss some of the skinny volumes, which have nestled into my bookbag. (Meanwhile longer works, like Timothy Findley's The Piano Man's Daughter and Greg Iles' Natchez Burning, were left at home.) Stephen Thomas' The Jokes is not funny-haha, but funny-hmmm. It's not meant to be funny-haha either, although many
Jill Sexsmith's Somewhere a Long and Happy Life Probably Awaits You (ARP Books, 2016) "Tulip stopped at the doorway. She had grown up with the whir of a mitre saw in the background, always cutting her thoughts and sentences and songs in half. Still, the sound of the blade
This debut collection is filled with sensory detail. From brisket and chicken soup to gefilte fish and borscht. From paint-by-number clowns to lacy pillow-slips. From red-striped deck chairs to weathered shutters. Inanna Publications, 2016 Whether it's Debussy or lyrics from "Oklahoma", the details matter. But Aspects of Nature is actually preoccupied
It's with a subtle touch, but Nadia Bozak solidly roots the reader in time and place. House of Anansi, 2016 This is not an easy task, because Shell only grows to the age of seventeen in Thirteen Shells -- across thirteen stories, and childhood is inherently rootless. So the details
