Customer Reviews

Damage Done by the Storm

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Relating short stories must be the most ancient form of human communication. From that far-off time when evolution granted us a "voice box" and a brain capable of expanded memory, "telling tales" clearly became a feature in our lives. The hunting expedition, the new discovery resulting from a random trek, "what happened to Og during the storm", was surely the way time was spent around the campfire after the evening meal. When speech moved to print, the tradition was carried on to the page. Nearly supplanted by books growing ever bulkier, filled with too-often turgid text, the short story, in the hands of the right author, returns us to readable prose.

Jack Hodgins is the "right author" in nearly every sense. His entry into Canadian literature was through a prize-winning collection of tales of his home ground - Spit Delaney's Island. There was a phase of fusion with The Barclay Family Theatre, a set of vignettes of Canadian life. From that book, almost as if waiting in the wings, came The Macken Charm, in which another family is portrayed in rather unsettling circumstances. Yet another family situation, covering vast distances, is his recently released Distance When "family values" are considered an important aspect, Hodgins is able to convey many facets of that ideal.

This collection of ten fine stories combines and enlarges on Hodgins' frequently applied theme of family. His long writing experience has granted him abilities to characterise matched by few, if any, authors. The opening story will jolt most readers, yet the young man depicted is anything but a fantasy. This story of compulsion is followed by a "cottage season" tale - the consummate Canadian situation. In Hodgins' account, there are some new twists to what likely would become mundane in the hands of a lesser talent. In yet another tale, the Mackens' return to confront what, for them, is the least desireable circumstance. Distant events compel attention to off-Island issues. Mackens must not only leave their little Island habitat, but travel to that, for them, most inauspicious place - Ottawa. It's a question of inheritance, perhaps the one thing that can disrupt family life the most severely.

Of course, the title story compels the Ottawa reader to wonder - "Is this another Ice Storm collection? Are we going to read about snapped hydro lines, treacherous streets, chilled houses and shattered aboreal stands?" Not quite. There is a storm, but it's the more typical deposition of a metre of snow. There's a downed tree, but it reclines in solitary insolence on a railroad track. The damage lies elsewhere, in the memories of a retired Senator still living in Ottawa. Coming from British Columbia, Alfred Buckle is still uneasy with snow after all these years. It's not negotiating snow-covered streets that impairs him, but the recollections of other times and places. He's on his way to the Grand Opening of his grandson's new establishment. It's a meaningful event, but one tree may disrupt the journey. Will he arrive on time? More important to Alfred, will he be welcome when he does show up?

There is a gem tucked away in these pages. In Australia, Russell Drysdale produced his renowned painting, The Drover's Wife. It qas long celebrated as typifying the bleak existence of those mustering cattle or sheep. Australian author Murray Bail finally "identified" the subject in the painting with a hilarious account of a deserting wife. In Hodgins' collection, her career takes yet another step with her emigration to Canada. In his portrait, the Drover's Wife typifies the problems and promise British Columbia faces in dealing with its most precious natural resource. Hodgins does more than simply graft West Coast conditions to an outstanding and humourous Australian episode. He brings "Hazel" to life in ways that lie beyond what even Bail accomplished. In fact, this lively story has many messages.

Not all the tales here are rollicking family disputes or clashes over distant possessions. In "The Crossing", Hodgins follows a passenger on the BC Ferries system. She stands alone, at first, contemplating the approaching coast and mountain background. She's done this trip before. It seems to be a family trait to travel - sometimes great distances. Her father, deluded that he would fare better in the South Pacific, slips away in a sailboat. Her sister Dora, convinced that she's received secret messages from an alien spaceship, fled into those mountains backdropping the city. What then, is Leanne's purpose in making this crossing? Is this truly the shopping trip she announced before departing?

Hodgins is a unique talent, possessed of strengths any writer will admire and any reader will encounter with delight. We need more such.
[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]