Pool-Hopping

by Anne Fleming

The diverse characters in Pool-Hopping -- many of whom are gay, lesbian or queer -- come from different generations and backgrounds, but all sense disorder rippling beneath the fragile surface of existence. This compels them to act in curious ways. Pool-Hopping is about the messy chaos of contemporary uban life and the attempt to stave off confusion with risky, often brave, and sometimes plain wrong-headed gestures of generosity.

Genres: Short Stories, Queer, Fiction, Canada, Gay

221 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Anne Fleming is the author of five books: Pool-Hopping and Other Stories , shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, the Danuta Gleed Award and the Governor General’s Award; the critically acclaimed novel, Anomaly ; Gay Dwarves of America , also shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson; poemw , a book of poems shortlisted for the BC Book Prizes’ Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize; and The Goat , a novel for children. Her non-fiction has been published in a raft of anthologies, including Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme, Great Expectations: Twenty-Four True Stories About Childbirth, and You Be Me .

Anne grew up in Toronto and lived in Kitchener, Ontario for a chunk of time before moving to Vancouver, where she received her MFA from UBC. Her fiction has won National Magazine Awards, been commissioned by CBC Radio, and widely published in magazines and anthologies.

A highly regarded teacher of creative writing, she has been on faculty at both UBC campuses, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. She now divides her time between Vancouver (unceded Coast Salish territory) and Kelowna (unceded Syilx territory), where she teaches at UBC’s Okanagan Campus. She likes to cross-country ski and play the ukulele, although not necessarily at the same time.​​​

Reviews

[Sophie Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the use of non traditional characters! I can know that certain groups are underrepresented in media but until you read a story where all the characters are from an underrepresented group, be it gay, lesbian, overweight, unattractive, etc. Seriously i loved it. Its all short stories and each one has its own little power

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this!! So smart, funny, great arcs. Insightful. Excellent stuff <3

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story collection, I loved some and hated others. Net neutral.

[Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

the stories from the point of view of children were my favourite and reminded me of my own memories

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne Fleming’s short story collection Pool-Hopping and Other Stories (1998), above all else, reminded me how much I love reading short stories. I’ve never really understood why so many readers who are keen to pick up novels are somehow reluctant to check out a book of short stories. Are people really so lazy they don’t want to take the trouble to reorient themselves a few more times throughout a book instead of just at the beginning? Fleming’s short stories are definitely worth the effort: I would count Pool-Hopping among some of the best short fiction I’ve ever read, up there with Ivan E. Coyote’s thousand-word one-time punches and Alice Munro’s strangely familiar tales. In fact, the short stories in Pool-Hopping recall the everyday queerness of Ivan Coyote and the precision and impeccable narrative timing of Alice Munro. You couldn’t really ask for a better combination than that, now could you?

See the rest of my review at my blog: http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wor...

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ordered Fleming's Gay Dwarves of America three-fourths of the way through Pool-Hopping, if that's any indication of how much I liked this collection of stories. Some of the stories didn't resonate with me, but the ones that did, wow. I sobbed almost the entire way through You Would Know What to Do, which was narrated by arguably the least likable character from a logical point of view. It is particularly nice to read stories about lesbians, about lesbians who are friends with lesbians, lesbians who have family members who are lesbians, and so on. It's rare to find good representation of queer identity that doesn't feel like it's exploiting that identity while also not having solely queer identities throughout each story.