Grim Newfoundland stories prove provocative

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/02/2023 (972 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lonely and isolated characters abound in this dark and disturbing but intriguing and fast-paced collection of short stories by Newfoundland author Bridget Canning.

No One Knows about Us consists of 16 short stories, some of which are extremely brief while the last, Mindfull, is labelled as a novella. Most of the stories take place in or around St. John’s, N.L., while the novella is set in Toronto.

This is Canning’s third work of fiction and her first short story collection. The St. John’s-based writer has been a finalist for several awards for her previous novels. She holds master’s degrees in creative writing and literacy education.

Excessive drug and alcohol use is rampant and are recurring themes in many stories here, and are accompanied by unwise choices and often terrible outcomes.

Some of the characters are unlikable and many are driven by a desire for revenge. In their loneliness many turn to substance abuse.

In Gutless Bravado, the protagonist is a man who has had to have his stomach removed. His story unfolds in four parts that are interspersed among the others. This fellow, whose name is not revealed, may be physically “gutless,” but he is far from cowardly and is more of a self-appointed doer of “justice.”

The man can barely eat, but gets involved in all kinds of dangerous situations while trying to help others out.

In Part One, the protagonist is intent on helping a female friend exact revenge on an ex, a despicable bully. In Part Two, the same fellow sets out to help another woman who is being plagued by unwanted company from another unlikeable character.

Part Three has the “gutless” vigilante cleaning up a run-down green space for his neighbour, Sheila. He sets out to mow the grass and put in flowering gardens. While doing so he tries to protect the neighbourhood from a coyote and has a dangerous confrontation with a neighbourhood thief.

Part Four sees the protagonist accompany a friend to a bar, where they catch someone they think is spiking someone’s drink — with disastrous results. The title of the collection comes from this story.

In another story, The Neal Continuum, which also has to do with spiked drinks, Neal is a baker trying to keep himself busy and in “balance.” Interestingly, Neal also pops up in another story. After running into an old girlfriend, his loneliness causes him to overindulge in alcohol and pills, resulting in horrible consequences.

The novella, Mindfull, is a kind of Margaret Atwood-ish, dystopian and contemporary work of fiction. It takes place in Toronto during what is called “The Dimming.”

These are dark and desperate times where racists, suicide bombers, homeless people and violent protests abound. Nazis spread propaganda and refugees are treated like criminals.

The main character, Sandra Somers, who works at a homeless shelter, has had a difficult childhood, and is constantly trying to think positive and help others. She becomes obsessed with Murray Dove, a kind of positive-thinking guru. She soon comes under his control with interesting yet dark consequences.

The story moves quickly and keeps the reader stuck to the page. Canning’s writing is smart, concise and composed of short, fast-paced sentences. This helps to move the stories along, and they are quick and easy to read.

Some of the stories are so brief that nothing really seems to happen in them, and so many involve excessive substance abuse that they may not appeal to all. If you are looking for light-hearted and humorous stories such as those written by Newfoundland’s Alan Doyle, you will not find them here.

But Canning can certainly write and the stories, despite having strong negative overtones, contain interesting and provocative ideas that make you think.

Cheryl Girard is a Winnipeg writer.