The Penguin Anthology of Stories By Canadian Women

by Denise Chong

Genres: Short Stories, Canada

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Denise Chong is an award-winning author whose work portrays the lives of ordinary people caught in the eye of history. Best known for her family memoir, The Concubine’s Children; The Girl in the Picture about the napalm girl of the Vietnam War; and Egg on Mao, a story of love and defiance in China of 1989, she lives in Ottawa.

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

No big surprises here, but if you're a fan of straight-up short fiction a la Alice Munro, you'll probably enjoy this book.

[Josh]

Stories of lament, of poverty, of justified envy, of passion. As with any collection, it's a mixed bag, and some of the stories seem to me particularly stuffy and, for lack of a better word, slogs. But there are also some fantastic contributions in the mix. Here are a few of my favourites:

Cloister by Ann Copeland — a bit blunt, but it really provokes a visceral reaction to the inequity between men and women, in this case within the confines of a convent.

Presbyterian Crosswalk by Barbara Gowdy — reminds me of an episode of Curb or Seinfeld, with lovely little details that made me laugh in a few places, and with everything wrapping up very nicely in an ironic denouement.

Crush by Bonnie Burnard — a very short hot and luscious story that speaks up for female sexuality while not making any mistake about the real world.

The Midnight Hour by Sandra Birdsell — I found this to be a very relatable story of teenage angst and semi-poverty, so in other words quite distressing to read.

Queen of the North by Eden Robinson — Eden Robinson's characters are strong and fierce; they reminded me a lot of characters from her Monkey Beach, and perhaps some plot elements are re-used, but her stories are entrancing and it is a wonder to visit her world even briefly.

Leah and Paul, for Example by Monique Proulx — a montage of the brief and transient moments of (semi-)passionate love.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of these stories were enriching and captivating, but once I got just past the middle I found that my interest in this book waned. The voices all seemed to blend together and were pretty bland, save for a couple which really stood out. Overall it was a good read. It would be cool to see a new anthology released with some newer Canadian writers.

[Kathleen McRae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed some stories more than others and found this a good short story read.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed

[Colleen Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not wait to be finished this book. If I were not so stubborn I would not have.

[SouthHouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely collection.

[Breanna]

Not a happy story in the lot