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Mount Appetite
Short-listed for Canada's prestigious Giller Prize, Mount Appetite presents 12 vibrant, intensely human tales of desire and alienation. "Everyone at the top of Mt. Appetite is as close as they can get to heaven. It's work to get there and agony to be denied." Whether a salmon researcher, professional taster, illiterate faith healer, or Malcolm Lowry's illegitimate son, the protagonists in these sly and witty stories have all climbed the mountain, and all share a restless, relentless longing that they struggle to satiate through alcohol, drugs, sex, or schemes of the heart. Bill Gaston, author of the critically acclaimed The Good Body, evinces a remarkable dexterity of voice as he moves effortlessly among his colorful cast of characters, drawing the junkie with the same skill and compassion as the teenaged 7-11 clerk. Grotesque, unsettling, and oddly tender, Mount Appetite is short fiction at its finest.
224 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 6, 2011
Alcoholism and substance abuse is a tough subject to base a book upon and one can easily fall into the trap of portraying characters as losers. And yet I found this collection of short stories poignant and witty, with sympathetic characters, and full of subtle lessons.
A faith healer discovers the illusiveness of his gift the moment he lets himself get embroiled in material concerns; a younger brother feels his mortality when he sees his once-strong older sibling felled by a stroke; a staid uncle and his drug-addicted nephew trade places because the former wants to live, for just once; a “slow” kid tries hard to keep up with his merciless peers even if it means bringing an unlikely “guest” to the ball game; a lonely scientist mixes fish eggs and sperm in order to rejuvenate a moribund fishing industry and only recalls the emptiness in her own life – these are but a sampling of the situations and characters in this collection. The two stories I liked the best were, the one about Malcolm Lowry’s supposed bastard child spewing spurts of venom at his drunken and dead parents like the lava from an exploding volcano, and the other about the stay-at-home dad caring for his autistic daughter only to have her taken away from him when he is found medicating her on marijuana to help her cope with pain.
Interesting observations dot the stories: “Drunks wear their innermost urges on their sleeves.” And interesting confessions too: “I’ve not had sex in a thousand days,” says the uncle as he succumbs to his nephew’s drug regimen. The lessons in the story “The Bronze Miracle” cover the opportunities in life, the power of luck and the futility of planning.
Many of the characters find redemption through their actions, even though those actions may be harmful to them: the drunk out on parole keeps downing drinks and repeatedly driving past a RIDE patrol because he thinks the female cop on duty is the sweetest thing he has seen since being released.
Altogether a smorgasbord of human situations covering an uncomfortable theme, rendered with compassion and humour. The painful revelation to me was that these situations did not look too contrived or fictionalized; they seem to come from real life – which speaks volumes about the state of our supposed developed society...
A faith healer discovers the illusiveness of his gift the moment he lets himself get embroiled in material concerns; a younger brother feels his mortality when he sees his once-strong older sibling felled by a stroke; a staid uncle and his drug-addicted nephew trade places because the former wants to live, for just once; a “slow” kid tries hard to keep up with his merciless peers even if it means bringing an unlikely “guest” to the ball game; a lonely scientist mixes fish eggs and sperm in order to rejuvenate a moribund fishing industry and only recalls the emptiness in her own life – these are but a sampling of the situations and characters in this collection. The two stories I liked the best were, the one about Malcolm Lowry’s supposed bastard child spewing spurts of venom at his drunken and dead parents like the lava from an exploding volcano, and the other about the stay-at-home dad caring for his autistic daughter only to have her taken away from him when he is found medicating her on marijuana to help her cope with pain.
Interesting observations dot the stories: “Drunks wear their innermost urges on their sleeves.” And interesting confessions too: “I’ve not had sex in a thousand days,” says the uncle as he succumbs to his nephew’s drug regimen. The lessons in the story “The Bronze Miracle” cover the opportunities in life, the power of luck and the futility of planning.
Many of the characters find redemption through their actions, even though those actions may be harmful to them: the drunk out on parole keeps downing drinks and repeatedly driving past a RIDE patrol because he thinks the female cop on duty is the sweetest thing he has seen since being released.
Altogether a smorgasbord of human situations covering an uncomfortable theme, rendered with compassion and humour. The painful revelation to me was that these situations did not look too contrived or fictionalized; they seem to come from real life – which speaks volumes about the state of our supposed developed society...
January 19, 2016
giving this a reluctant 4, for the writing, the insight, and the impact of these disturbing stories.
September 1, 2018
Why have I not read Bill Gaston before? His writing feels like home. Perhaps it's because we have travelled some of the same paths - as a youth in North Vancouver, as an adult on the island. A fanciful trip east to Newfoundland. Thank you for these stories, these glimpses of humanity that are fascinating and terrifying.
June 1, 2024
"..to desire anything is missing the point." These stories are dark, deep, and raw. I love how his endings keep you wanting more as you are left in mid-air with so many thoughts.
December 8, 2013
Where it Comes From, Where it Goes: I liked the story, but it left me confused. I didn't understand what happened to his gift. Will it come back? Why did it go? Why didn't he just put a lock on the box?
The Angel's Share: Again this story left me confused. Evelyn is obviously running from something. But what? Does it have to do with her father (he died?). I don't really get the ending either. I didn't really connect with her character.
The Alcoholist: I liked this one a bit, but again...
It seems as though Gaston's characters (I've never read anything by him before) are like leaves in a creek--they just get drawn by external forces and have no real substance of thier own.
Overall (so far), I don't see the shine of these stories or the writing.
Driving Under the Influence:
Comedian Tire: This one seemed to end (again) before the story was over. Connected with the narrator, but felt the story was missing something.
So far, I can't see why the critics were so impressed with these stories. I really enjoy a good short story, but so far I'm totally underwhelmed by Gaston. I'll keep reading though. Maybe there will be one gem among the 12.
The Little Drug Addict that Could: So-so. Again, the main character just seems to be drawn along by circumstance. Another divorced man--I see a pattern.
The Hangover: Finally a story that I find halfway decent. The title having a double meaning was pretty good. Still not impressed though
Forest Path: Yet another in a long line of self-exiled uninspiring men. Oh, make that two. I'm curious to see what if any relation this story has to Mount Appetite.
Maria's Older Brother: The build-up was good but the result disappointing. I was expecting something much more drastic to have happened at the end. I mean, if the girl was "lying in state" as it were, and in such a condition that the people at the house were not repulsed, the reaction of the kids seems to be a bit exaggerated.
The Bronze Miracle: This one was okay, but not great. It seemed like some of this was going on in the narrator's head. It bothered me (although I realise that was the point) that we don't know who the boy turned out to be, but neither possibility put forth by the narrator seemed right.
Northern Cod: My favourite story in the collection, but again we have a protaganist (a woman this time for some variety) who is in some kind of fallen apart marriage & helpless (i.e. the consistent phone-calling to her husband who's not home).
Mount Appetite: this story was captivating & a just ending (maybe?), but still below par as far as I'm concerned.
Overall, this was a very disappointing read. Haven't a clue why it got such rave reviews and awards.
The Angel's Share: Again this story left me confused. Evelyn is obviously running from something. But what? Does it have to do with her father (he died?). I don't really get the ending either. I didn't really connect with her character.
The Alcoholist: I liked this one a bit, but again...
It seems as though Gaston's characters (I've never read anything by him before) are like leaves in a creek--they just get drawn by external forces and have no real substance of thier own.
Overall (so far), I don't see the shine of these stories or the writing.
Driving Under the Influence:
Comedian Tire: This one seemed to end (again) before the story was over. Connected with the narrator, but felt the story was missing something.
So far, I can't see why the critics were so impressed with these stories. I really enjoy a good short story, but so far I'm totally underwhelmed by Gaston. I'll keep reading though. Maybe there will be one gem among the 12.
The Little Drug Addict that Could: So-so. Again, the main character just seems to be drawn along by circumstance. Another divorced man--I see a pattern.
The Hangover: Finally a story that I find halfway decent. The title having a double meaning was pretty good. Still not impressed though
Forest Path: Yet another in a long line of self-exiled uninspiring men. Oh, make that two. I'm curious to see what if any relation this story has to Mount Appetite.
Maria's Older Brother: The build-up was good but the result disappointing. I was expecting something much more drastic to have happened at the end. I mean, if the girl was "lying in state" as it were, and in such a condition that the people at the house were not repulsed, the reaction of the kids seems to be a bit exaggerated.
The Bronze Miracle: This one was okay, but not great. It seemed like some of this was going on in the narrator's head. It bothered me (although I realise that was the point) that we don't know who the boy turned out to be, but neither possibility put forth by the narrator seemed right.
Northern Cod: My favourite story in the collection, but again we have a protaganist (a woman this time for some variety) who is in some kind of fallen apart marriage & helpless (i.e. the consistent phone-calling to her husband who's not home).
Mount Appetite: this story was captivating & a just ending (maybe?), but still below par as far as I'm concerned.
Overall, this was a very disappointing read. Haven't a clue why it got such rave reviews and awards.
July 23, 2009
"She can quiet a man like this. He wants only entertainment. He lacks eyes to see what's in the fire: faces hideous or godlike or mirroring any possible mood. He can't hear the tiny marimba of pebbles in waves, or the silence that is their aching measure. Can't parse the accents of smoke, or smell the beach as a charnel ground of clams, the non-stop enormity of this." p31
"Mount Appetite" by Bill Gaston is a collection of stories, tied together by the protagonists' search for something unseen or unknowable. Readers will meet a faith healer who lives in a trailer with a donation box outside; a professional taste-tester who's dying and can't stand his neighbours carrots; a graduate who researches fish, stays with her unfertilized charges while suspecting her husband of infidelity; a brother encounters tragedy on a baseball field.
Gaston's style has a natural, organic flow. This easily lends itself to the description of the landscape, an important aspect of his stories. The stories are diverse, the voices varied, giving the book a freshness that short story collections often lack. He pulls the reader in, almost drowns them in waves of original diction, never letting go until the last page. Each story is a universe, cupped in the hand.
There are so many great lines within this collection "her mouth shaped like a complaint", "fingers tooling in flesh and oil", "The dutiful tides of Indian Arm, the rich, fish-rank croaks of gulls and herons, the smell of shattered cedar, the sacred light in a dewdrop reflecting the sun, the mysterious light in a dewdrop reflecting the moon."
The only frustrating aspect of Gaston's writing is what feels like a lack of resolution. "The Angel's Share" involves Evelyn, a young woman running from the death of her father. While the story has an otherworldly west coast feel to it, the ending feels incomplete. We only dip into the relationship between Evelyn and her father whereas a full swig would have been more helpful in understanding her character. This truncation, this lack of closure occurs in several other stories and is frustrating as the rest of Gaston's works are entirely satisfying.
"Mount Appetite" by Bill Gaston is a collection of stories, tied together by the protagonists' search for something unseen or unknowable. Readers will meet a faith healer who lives in a trailer with a donation box outside; a professional taste-tester who's dying and can't stand his neighbours carrots; a graduate who researches fish, stays with her unfertilized charges while suspecting her husband of infidelity; a brother encounters tragedy on a baseball field.
Gaston's style has a natural, organic flow. This easily lends itself to the description of the landscape, an important aspect of his stories. The stories are diverse, the voices varied, giving the book a freshness that short story collections often lack. He pulls the reader in, almost drowns them in waves of original diction, never letting go until the last page. Each story is a universe, cupped in the hand.
There are so many great lines within this collection "her mouth shaped like a complaint", "fingers tooling in flesh and oil", "The dutiful tides of Indian Arm, the rich, fish-rank croaks of gulls and herons, the smell of shattered cedar, the sacred light in a dewdrop reflecting the sun, the mysterious light in a dewdrop reflecting the moon."
The only frustrating aspect of Gaston's writing is what feels like a lack of resolution. "The Angel's Share" involves Evelyn, a young woman running from the death of her father. While the story has an otherworldly west coast feel to it, the ending feels incomplete. We only dip into the relationship between Evelyn and her father whereas a full swig would have been more helpful in understanding her character. This truncation, this lack of closure occurs in several other stories and is frustrating as the rest of Gaston's works are entirely satisfying.
December 9, 2014
Now this is a collection of short stories that I could not get interested in.
The characters were all hapless and seem to drift through the world with no plan or ideas. The stories never have a ending or even enough to think there is an ending somewhere in the future. I was just left with this idea that nothing would change and if we saw these people again in 20 years we would hardly tell the difference. They would all still be unhappy, unsatisfied and unfulfilled.
The characters were all hapless and seem to drift through the world with no plan or ideas. The stories never have a ending or even enough to think there is an ending somewhere in the future. I was just left with this idea that nothing would change and if we saw these people again in 20 years we would hardly tell the difference. They would all still be unhappy, unsatisfied and unfulfilled.
February 14, 2012
How did I never read Gaston until now? What an amazing writer!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews