A disappointing selection for which I blame the editor, whose taste must be the polar opposite of my own. ( )

A disappointing selection for which I blame the editor, whose taste must be the polar opposite of my own. ( )

The Breakwater Book of Contemporary Newfoundland Short Fiction edited by Larry Mathews is a commendable attempt to bring together a selection of stories by Newfoundland-based writers working in the last 30 years or so. These stories by some of the more recognizable names in the Newfoundland literary landscape, along with a few by writers whose names might not be immediately familiar, are without exception vastly entertaining. All of the stories are strong, and all exhibit the kind of narrative urgency and imaginative wordplay that make for compelling reading. Highlights include "Fogbound in Avalon" by Elizabeth McGrath, originally published in The New Yorker and subsequently included in the 1981 edition of The Best American Short Stories. This is the story of Anne O’Neill, who, as the story opens, is escaping a rotten marriage and returning to St. John’s with her three children. Anne is a realist who believes in self-reliance and has no faith in dreams. Her life is a struggle, and her story is a tour-de-force of hardscrabble realism, ending on a wistful note as Anne realizes that, despite her affection for the island and its people, the restlessness in her nature that made her leave before is going to force her to leave again. Ramona Dearing’s "An Apology" explores the Mount Cashel sexual abuse scandal through the character of former Christian Brother Gerard Lundrigan, who has returned to St. John’s for his trial. Thoroughly unlikeable, Lundrigan has a short fuse and a distorted take on reality, living in a fog of denial, unable to face what he has done. In his mind he has built a fantasy in which he is the wronged party and everyone who is against him is either misguided or malicious. The story is powerful, because we know what he is protecting himself from and why. In the end, with his confidence eroded and his fantasy showing signs of breaking down, he seems on the cusp of self-awareness. And Lisa Moore’s "But Lovers with the Intensity I’m Talking About" is about the chance encounter of former lovers in a grocery store in the middle of a snowstorm. It is thirty-five years since Jim and Marissa engaged in a brief but all-consuming affair, the kind of idealized physical love that sucks the lovers into a vortex and blinds them to all that is going on around them. It’s also a kind of love that burns out quickly. Jim can’t remember how or why they broke up, except to say that when the time came they both knew that it was over. Moore’s narrative ranges confidently from the past to the present and back again. The swirl of Jim's emotions is matched by the swirling storm that has engulfed the city and forced him and Marissa into close quarters for the first time in years. Moore’s prose is richly detailed and offers moments of stunning emotional authenticity. It is a dazzling performance, but only one among several in this volume. This is a collection that can be enjoyed by any fan of short fiction. You don't have to also be a fan of Newfoundland to appreciate its virtues. ( )