Brace yourself... Imma talk about books!
Oh man. Light Lifting by Alexander MacLeod. I RECOMMEND IT! It's a rare thing stumbling across a book of short stories by a Canadian author (especially a Giller short-listed one) that's not just tale after depressing tale of Bad Things Happening...
Er. Okay, now that I think about it, I'm halfway through and all of the stories I've read have had some degree of Bad Things Happening, but not in the typical style. He handles the dark bits in this beautiful matter-of-fact way rather than wallowing around in the usual weirdly punctuated introspective swamp...
(I mean, if Canadian lit-fic were a person, it would be the sort of kid who gets sent to the counselor's office to have a little chat about their home life after the art teacher sees what they've been drawing. I still don't understand why this is, but it really is.)
But yes! There are characters who are more than just the sum of their brooding! There are iotas of hope and happiness! I like that in a story! There was a story with a scene so similar to the waiting room bit in Wheels* that I'm actually a bit concerned that folks will think I ripped it off! Haaa. O_O I'm vastly enjoying this and have reached that point where I'm beaming while reading and also going "HOW ARE YOU DOING THAAAAT?" trying to figure out the construction of these things.
So, in return for me yelping at you about this, gimme a recc for a short story anthology or two that you like! :D
* Yes, I am going to continue referencing it until you all cave and buy Twelve Tales just to see what the heck I keep babbling about.
Er. Okay, now that I think about it, I'm halfway through and all of the stories I've read have had some degree of Bad Things Happening, but not in the typical style. He handles the dark bits in this beautiful matter-of-fact way rather than wallowing around in the usual weirdly punctuated introspective swamp...
(I mean, if Canadian lit-fic were a person, it would be the sort of kid who gets sent to the counselor's office to have a little chat about their home life after the art teacher sees what they've been drawing. I still don't understand why this is, but it really is.)
But yes! There are characters who are more than just the sum of their brooding! There are iotas of hope and happiness! I like that in a story! There was a story with a scene so similar to the waiting room bit in Wheels* that I'm actually a bit concerned that folks will think I ripped it off! Haaa. O_O I'm vastly enjoying this and have reached that point where I'm beaming while reading and also going "HOW ARE YOU DOING THAAAAT?" trying to figure out the construction of these things.
So, in return for me yelping at you about this, gimme a recc for a short story anthology or two that you like! :D
* Yes, I am going to continue referencing it until you all cave and buy Twelve Tales just to see what the heck I keep babbling about.