Snapshots: The New Canadian Fiction

Andrea Geary is an agricultural reporter for The Manitoba Co-operator.

In her introduction, editor Kristina Russelo compares these 21 brief
stories to photographs that capture a fleeting moment in time forever; a
“postcard” story differs from a novel in the same way that a
photograph differs from a full-length movie—the story and photograph
are immediate and intense.

Many of the stories in this collection have more affinities with poetry
than with prose. Some consist of just a few paragraphs, with the
emotions in them squeezed to their barest essence. Particularly good are
P.J. Holdstock’s five stories, all unalike in style but sharing a
common ability to grab the reader. “Catching the News” tells of the
perils faced by readers who try to keep up to date on current issues
while the newspapers pile up. What do old friends really have in common
is the question Holdstock poses in “Waiting for Margot.”

Each of the stories in Snapshots is quite unlike the others; together
they provide an intriguing glimpse into a new form of Canadian fiction.