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Clear Skies, No Wind, 100% Visibility
Set against the divergent landscape of British Columbia — from the splendours of nature to its immense dangers, from urban grease and grit to dry, desert towns — Clear Skies, No Wind, 100% Visibility examines human beings and their many frailties with breathtaking insight and accuracy.
Théodora Armstrong peoples her stories with characters as richly various — and as compelling — as her settings. A soon-to-be father and haute cuisine chef mercilessly berates his staff while facing his lack of preparedness for parenthood. A young girl revels in the dark drama of the murder of a girl from her neighbourhood. A novice air-traffic specialist must come to terms with his first loss — the death of a pilot — on his watch. And the dangers of deep canyons and powerful currents spur on the reckless behaviour of teenagers as they test the limits of bravery, friendship, and sex.
With startling intimacy and language stripped bare, Clear Skies, No Wind, 100% Visibility announces the arrival of Théodora Armstrong as a striking new literary voice.
Théodora Armstrong peoples her stories with characters as richly various — and as compelling — as her settings. A soon-to-be father and haute cuisine chef mercilessly berates his staff while facing his lack of preparedness for parenthood. A young girl revels in the dark drama of the murder of a girl from her neighbourhood. A novice air-traffic specialist must come to terms with his first loss — the death of a pilot — on his watch. And the dangers of deep canyons and powerful currents spur on the reckless behaviour of teenagers as they test the limits of bravery, friendship, and sex.
With startling intimacy and language stripped bare, Clear Skies, No Wind, 100% Visibility announces the arrival of Théodora Armstrong as a striking new literary voice.
295 pages, Paperback
First published February 22, 2013
102 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 27, 2013
An excellent collection of eight contemporary short stories written in a sharp, honest style. Ms Armstrong is skilled at getting under the surface of life, unearthing the raw realities without apologizing. The characters in these stories are so real you feel like you have met them somewhere before. Even if you are not a fan of short stories, these will grab your attention. I couldn't put the book down and I look forward to reading more of this writer's work.
May 26, 2013
The disturbing edginess of this collection flies in the face of "beautiful British Columbia" (the reader is given a vivid sense of not only the characters but also the setting.) Armstrong's superb writing rates 5 stars for sure. My favourite three are: the title story - Clear Skies, No Wind, 100%...; Thanks To Carin; and Fishtail, with its spine tingling sad ending.
Deep, dark, and filled with violently real adolescent angst, by the finish I felt in need of a stiff drink and an escape to kinder gentler fictional worlds, hence my 3 star rating. But author Theodora's poignant characters will be with me for a long time yet.
Deep, dark, and filled with violently real adolescent angst, by the finish I felt in need of a stiff drink and an escape to kinder gentler fictional worlds, hence my 3 star rating. But author Theodora's poignant characters will be with me for a long time yet.
June 14, 2013
Armstrong's debut collection is very much about place as much as character. In this case, BC.
It's a Canadian collection, so expect death, drowning and wildlife. One gets the impression of constant rain and dire emotions inside people moving through life.
In one story, for example, a rage-aholic chef spends his days berating his staff while his confidence in becoming a father is eating away at his sense of self.
Her language is poetic at times, and stark and modern at others. A pretty good debut.
It's a Canadian collection, so expect death, drowning and wildlife. One gets the impression of constant rain and dire emotions inside people moving through life.
In one story, for example, a rage-aholic chef spends his days berating his staff while his confidence in becoming a father is eating away at his sense of self.
Her language is poetic at times, and stark and modern at others. A pretty good debut.
October 2, 2018
Being from BC and having visited or lived in many of the places helped me visualize. I was anxious to read more of every story in this collection. Sometimes a bit obscure in her prose and sometimes incisive in her descriptions. I loved reading this book and the author's ability to stir up my imagination.
March 23, 2021
Actually a 4.5. One of the best collections I've read in the past few years. Very redolent of time (age, gender, situation) and place (BC looms large). Armstrong has a light touch. I look forward to seeing her tackle a larger canvas.
May 11, 2020
Clear prose, no stories I didn't love, 100% recommend!
May 8, 2013
I received a free copy of this for Goodreads' First Reads program.
The interesting thing about this collection of short stories is that each of them is, at heart, extremely human. There is nothing fantastical or strange or out of the ordinary about the stories Armstrong tells us, instead they are simply the tales of people.
The relationships explored range from friends, to father and daughter, to siblings, to husband and wife. The facets of each are outlined, but especially their struggles are highlighted. Nothing is ever perfect. There is stress and there is strain and maybe they are happy in the end-- or maybe they aren't-- but they definitely have to fight to get to their ending, no matter what it is. And because they are simply people, each story speaks volumes, and each reverberates on a deeper level.
Only one of the stories did I find felt too long, while I was reading it, like the characters were too frustrating and the meaning dragged on-- but by the end of it, I felt like it was a good closer to the book as a whole.
It's really a set of stories about people learning from their struggles, and the value of their every day relationships. It's about how important the day-to-day is, about re-connections and our efforts, though they are not always positively resolved. Armstrong does an excellent job of telling us, without ever spelling it out, how important these things are and how vastly amazing an every day life is.
The interesting thing about this collection of short stories is that each of them is, at heart, extremely human. There is nothing fantastical or strange or out of the ordinary about the stories Armstrong tells us, instead they are simply the tales of people.
The relationships explored range from friends, to father and daughter, to siblings, to husband and wife. The facets of each are outlined, but especially their struggles are highlighted. Nothing is ever perfect. There is stress and there is strain and maybe they are happy in the end-- or maybe they aren't-- but they definitely have to fight to get to their ending, no matter what it is. And because they are simply people, each story speaks volumes, and each reverberates on a deeper level.
Only one of the stories did I find felt too long, while I was reading it, like the characters were too frustrating and the meaning dragged on-- but by the end of it, I felt like it was a good closer to the book as a whole.
It's really a set of stories about people learning from their struggles, and the value of their every day relationships. It's about how important the day-to-day is, about re-connections and our efforts, though they are not always positively resolved. Armstrong does an excellent job of telling us, without ever spelling it out, how important these things are and how vastly amazing an every day life is.
May 26, 2015
If there could be more than 5 stars, I would give them to this stunning collection of short stories. Each one was a small masterpiece of time and place. The author clearly knows her landscapes, deftly describing them, whether the arid hills behind the Kamloops airport in the title story, or the loneliness of Ambleside Park in Mosquito Creek. Her depictions of people felt so true to life that I felt my heart breaking for them, especially Carin in Thanks to Carin and Elgin in Mosquito Creek. When Elgin talks about moving to Cranbrook to live with the father he barely knows, my heart just breaks for him. We all know the man-child who doesn't want to grow up (Thom in Clear Skies, No Wind), the sister who can't get her act together (Carin in Thanks to Carin) and the parent who is baffled by his teenagers (Ted in Fishtail). Combine spare elegant story-telling with such a fine sense of place and person, and you have this truly wonderful collection of stories. I hope there are more to come.
August 1, 2013
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
This book was a very enjoyable read. Armstrong skillfully wove interesting characters into each of the eight short stories, which seemed to have a common theme as all stories dealt with rather significant issues within the family unit.
I liked how the stories each had a different feel to them, and a slightly different writing style was used for each story. Being originally from BC, it was really neat to be familiar with a lot of the landmarks and locations that are referenced in the stories.
Fantastic collection, this is on the list of books to recommend to friends.
This book was a very enjoyable read. Armstrong skillfully wove interesting characters into each of the eight short stories, which seemed to have a common theme as all stories dealt with rather significant issues within the family unit.
I liked how the stories each had a different feel to them, and a slightly different writing style was used for each story. Being originally from BC, it was really neat to be familiar with a lot of the landmarks and locations that are referenced in the stories.
Fantastic collection, this is on the list of books to recommend to friends.
August 26, 2014
An intriguing and nicely crafted collection of short stories. The author's debut collection. A finalist for the 2013 Danuta Gleed short fiction award. The judges had this to say about the book, "Sharp and accomplished, the stories in Théodora Armstrong’s Clear Skies, No Wind, 100% Visibility don’t read like a first collection: they read like the work of an accomplished author already comfortable in her skin, and in her characters’ skins as well."
June 24, 2015
This was like taking a trip to a new part of the world. I bought the book at a library sale and although I am not naturally drawn to short stories, I enjoyed these. In a way they reminded me of "Tales of the Unexpected" because they often have a twist in their tail that takes you by surprise but mostly for the taste of a different wilder landscape they brought - like a cold fresh wind from a bigger country blowing into this crowded little corner of Europe and opening my mind.
November 24, 2013
3.5 This is a collection of short stories which is very well written. While I liked some stories better than others, I found the characters and situations very real. Most are set in BC in and around Vancouver. I liked the title story and the final story in the collection about kids hanging out at the Capilano swinging bridge.
August 16, 2014
I keep thinking about the final story in the book, "Mosquito Creek", which captures all the joys and terrors of growing up, while creating this very well drawn, particular sort of internal landscape. Armstrong maps the terrain of teenage female friendship in a way that's familiar, but it's not like anything I've read before.
July 18, 2013
A really amazing read. The last story really inspired me and was a good life lesson! I really encourage people to read this book! Well written.
I received this book as a first reads winner! Thank you so much for this opportunity to read he book!
I received this book as a first reads winner! Thank you so much for this opportunity to read he book!
June 11, 2013
I'm generally not a big YA fan, but this is a beautiful book....it broke my heart.
August 30, 2013
All the stories are good, but Mosquito creek is truly amazing. So worth a read.
February 2, 2014
Some great stories, with a dark, uneasy feel to them; the last story was a lengthy disappointment.
December 28, 2014
Interesting that offers a variety of true to life characters!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews