Home Schooling: Stories [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Carol Windley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2009

The Giller Prize-nominated Home Schooling marks the American debut of a masterful, award-winning storyteller. Set against the moody landscape of Vancouver Island and the thrumming cities of the Pacific Northwest, Carol Windley’s stories uncover the hidden freight of families: in the title story, two sisters contend with their idealistic father’s sudden inability to provide for their family, and with their attraction to the same boy; in “What Saffi Knows,” a mother returns to a moment in her past when she held the knowledge that might have saved another child, but not the language with which to convey it; and in “Family in Black,” a young woman’s world is permanently changed when her mother abandons her father for a man who embodies everything her mother taught her to despise. Families dissolve and reform in new, startling configurations: ghosts appear, the past intrudes and overwhelms the present, familiar terrain takes on a hostile aspect, and happiness depends on unlikely alliances. With the invisibly perfect craftsmanship of Alice Munro, and the flesh-and-blood sense of place of Annie Proulx, Windley carves out territory all her own in these stories, each one a richly imagined world that will stay with readers for a long time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Peopled by a handful of vulnerable yet resilient creative types, among them poets, musicians, teachers and artists, Canadian author Windley's accomplished story collection focuses on the domestic scene, examining how family, lovers and neighbors leave their indelible marks. Mostly centered on or near Vancouver Island, Windley's cagey moments of conflict deftly illuminate her narrators' capacity for both pettiness and grace. In The Joy of Life, Alex finds herself living in the shadow of her best friend Dsire's idyllic life, but chances picking up the pieces when Dsire begins drifting from her husband and child. Felt Skies features a woman looking back on her connections with her strict mother and with her first adult lover, a much older man. Marisa of Children's Games moves into her lover's house and struggles to relate to his disagreeable, unpredictable son. Despite an abundance of similarly middle-class, introverted female characters, Windley keeps readers' attention with a fast pace and an eye for fresh details that make her efficient, achingly human dramas absorbing and sympathetic. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Most of the stories in Windley’s second collection are set on Vancouver Island, but they are bound more by deeply introspective characters than by a strong sense of place. Disintegrating marriages, or those already ended, dominate the narrative landscape; others feature children coping with family tragedies. In the title story, three daughters react differently to the obvious lack of marital love between their parents, who are growing apart. In “Children’s Games,” the new girlfriend of a single father whose wife deserted him struggles to bond with his difficult child and wonders if others see her as “a fraud, neither wife nor mother.” Two women, lifelong friends, seem to share one life as one inherits the other’s husband and child. Windley focuses on highly creative characters—poets, musicians, painters—and delves into the artistic forces that drive them and how this affects those who share their space. Moving back and forth in time, she zeros in on life-changing moments witnessed in different ways, as if seen through different lenses. A provocative collection from a writer in complete sync with her characters. --Deborah Donovan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press (February 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871139944
• ISBN-13: 978-0871139948
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,438,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect formula, February 8, 2009

By 

Avid (Vancouver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home Schooling: Stories (Hardcover)

After studying literature for four years and reading hundreds of short stories, I found Windley's Home Schooling to be the most current, articulate, and exciting collection in Canadian Lit.

Her wording sparse. . . the moods created with precision. . . the characters hauntingly and beautifully portrayed. . . you will want to continue to re-read these stories and peel back the layers as you continue to discover the deeper psychologies Windley recreates within the human mind.

Something so raw and so human. . . so timely in our fragmented and seemingly disillusioned world. . . Home Schooling sums up a generation much like the Wasteland does for Eliot's lost generation.

Sit by the fire. . . or on your patio. . . and enjoy this collection many times through. You'll find yourself lending it to everyone you speak with, just so you can continue discussing beyond the last page!

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning read, June 9, 2009

By 

Mrs. Katharine Wright - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Home Schooling: Stories (Paperback)

A very interesting and enjoyable collection of short stories depicting family relationships in western Canada. It certainly earned its prizewinning status.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and haunting, April 10, 2009

By 

M. Simpson "Chintz Girl" (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Home Schooling: Stories (Hardcover)

The stories in this collection are exquisitely written and haunting. Think Tillie Olson with a touch of Alice Seibold...character-driven pieces in unusual settings. Truly beautiful.