I Am Not Most Places

by Richard Cumyn

Kingston writer Richard Cumyn’s second book of short stories is a remarkable collection of fiction about the curse of modernity–displacement. In striking scenes Cumyn subtly explores our own sense of abandonment and loneliness in the face of change, movement and loss. Cumyn’s prose is sparse and direct, the violence supressed beneath the surface casual and foreboding. His characters are at once familiar and eerily distinct, their relationships a tender blend of heartbreak and affection. Separations achieved through illness, betrayal, aging, necessity, choice or dismissal represent an emotional x-ray of a society looking for permanence in an increasingly fluid and precarious world. This collection will haunt you like a shadow creeping over a suburban street– all the landmarks appear familiar but each door leads to unimagined worlds. Great stories await there.

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Goodness Ade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cumyn covers the finitude of human relations with each other and our environment so poignantly.

As the reader each story is its own vague fever dream which gives you just enough so you’re invested but not enough to reach a typical closure, and such is the nature of the characters’ lives themselves, painfully fuzzy and sometimes with abrupt changes, stones are left unturned and questions unanswered.

I’ve read this book a handful of times and I’m left wanting more every time, perhaps that’s why I return.