Man descending

An excellent collection of short stories. All of them had the same basic core: a family with one man (even with women around) who is an outcast or alone in some way. Often the family situation or the man's personal situation is going downhill fast, and the story focuses on how the protagonist deals with the situation. Do they stay and make the best of it, do they leave for something new, do they descend even further into decrepitude, do they become part of the "system" or whatever it is that's around them?

The last two stories are the best in terms of bringing up the main overriding theme of the collection, with the second-last providing the quote that titles the collection:

"His life, like every other life, could be graphed: an ascent show more that rises to a peak, pauses at a particular node, and then descends. Only the gradient changes in any particular case....We all ripen. We are all bound by the same ineluctable law; the same mathematical certainty.

"...I have begun the inevitable descent, the leisurely glissade which will finally topple me at the bottom of my own graph. A man descending is propelled by inertia; the only initiative left him is whether or not he decides to enjoy the passing scene." (192-193)

This collection explores a variety of descents, and Vanderhaeghe's diversity of settings and characters is excellent. The only suggestion I would make is not to read them all in one shot -- read them one at a time, puzzle them over, enjoy some of the great lines they offer. And when you're done, why not try the album of the same name by Justin Rutledge, a Canadian singer-songwriter? It was inspired by this collection and is similarly well crafted. show less

Amazing storytelling.