Kilter: 55 fictions
July 9th, 2005by John Gould
ISBN: 0888012802
I don’t like the terms flash fiction or sudden fiction, so I am reluctant to use them. But they are (more or less) conventionally understood and accepted terms used to desribe very short stories, and if you are a fan of very short stories, you’ll want to know about John Gould.
If you enjoy short fiction — and not just the ultra-short variety — you’ll want to know about Gould, too. (How short is short? In this case, a two-hundred page paperback contains fifty-five stories.) This book was a finalist for Canada’s top fiction award, Giller Prize, two years ago, which is how I heard about it. (Margaret Atwood and Ann-Marie MacDonald were also shortlisted that year; M. G. Vassanji won.) I was able to get my hands on a copy at Pages when we visited Toronto, though it will be published in the U.S. this fall.
All of which is I suppose a longer than necessary way of saying Gould packs sharp feelings, laugh-out-loud lines, and head-nodding recognition into his two- to five-page stories. Highly recommended.
