One Last Good Look

by Michael Winter

One Last Good Look follows the youthful and observant Gabriel English as he grows up in Newfoundland, leaves home and establishes himself in the world. These are stories of first hunting accidents, sibling rivalry, infatuation, death in the family, romantic breakups, sustaining friendships, and the yearning for love, laughs, and understanding. The storyline is one of the oldest in literature—that of a young man making sense of the world and choosing his place in it. And part of his place in the world is as a writer. Michael Winter tells his story in an intimate, compassionate way; his love for vivid detail, dialogue and humor come pouring through every line.

Genres: Canada, Short Stories

226 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2001

About the author

Author of five books: The Architects Are Here, The Big Why, This All Happened, One Last Good Look, Creaking in their Skins. His novel, The Death of Donna Whalen, is slated for publication in 2010.

Reviews

[Matthew McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In One Last Good Look, Michael Winter’s second short-story collection, we are introduced the early years of Gabriel English—the protagonist and, arguably, alter ego of the author—in particular his relationships with his high school love interest, Doris; his college crush, the lascivious Femke; Lydia, the on-again, off-again girlfriend central to Winter’s first novel, the ‘fictional memoir’ This All Happened; and Junior, his eccentric, erratic older brother. For me, Winter’s idiosyncratic style is mostly charming, yet borders on cloying in some instances; because Gabe is the protagonist of three of Winter’s works—this collection, The Architects Are Here, and This All Happened (and there is certainly some carryover between the latter novel and Winter’s subsequent work, The Big Why, another ‘fictional memoir’ centring on a loose year in the life of Rockwell Kent, the American painter)—the voice doesn’t really vary, nor does this ‘style’. Suffice to say, if you’ve read one of these stories or novels, in some ways you’ve read them all; and if you’re not into it, well…

Fortunately, I do enjoy Winter’s writing, and in these small doses of short fiction, the style and voice are high points, in my opinion. Unlike This All Happened—which, I will say, I did appreciate as an artistic experiment of sorts—the form of short fiction helps Gabe’s reflections, conversations, and observations avoid the pitfalls of becoming too repetitive, abstract, and masturbatory. As well, June has to be one of my favourite characters in Newfoundland fiction; brash, uncompromising, philosophical and naïve, June ostensibly represents what Gabe calls “pure Newfoundlander,” though in his attempts to “occupy the land,” Winter shows that this pursuit of unadulterated freedom is misguided and, ultimately, impossible. Because of his unique misgivings, the stories in which June features heavily are, for me, the most memorable, with the dialogue in these stories a particular highlight.

Best stories: “Deep in My Brother,” “Second Heart,” “Something Practical,” “The Pallbearer’s Gloves,” “Archibald the Arctic.”

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished this collection of short stories by yet another fantabulous Newfoundland writer. His writing is like his home province's geography, rugged, sound, colourful and wildly entertaining. His intentional use of language is superb and inspiring. I like the narrator (Gabriel) so much that when I finished reading the collection I actually missed him. I will definitely find more of his writing to read.

[Sophie Bégin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing inward thoughts projected onto paper. So good and raw.