White Gloves of the Doorman: The Works of Leon Rooke

W.J. Keith is a retired professor of English at the University of Toronto and author A Sense of Style: Studies in the Art of Fiction in English-Speaking Canada.

Leon Rooke, a prolific author of fiction, has been publishing for more
than 30 years. Yet, despite the quality and unquestioned vigour of so
much of his work, this is the first full-length volume devoted to his
writings. The main reason for this neglect may be attributed to
Rooke’s originality. Although analogues can be found in the writings
of William Faulkner and some other writers of the American South (Rooke
was, after all, born in North Carolina), his work fits into no easily
recognizable literary tradition—least of all any Canadian literary
tradition. Moreover, each of his fictions, whether a novel or a short
story, seems to create its own literary niche, whose conventions and
rules need to be learnt (and then unlearnt) continually. Above all,
Rooke is essentially a performer, and I am one of many who found him
difficult to respond to until I had heard him acting out his fictions in
person.

This collection, however, admirably makes up for lost time. With the
exception of a small number of the now-inevitable theory-clogged,
jargon-clogged essays from postmodern academe (which look all the more
ridiculous when their subject is a postmodernist of genius who knows the
supreme importance of verbal precision and exuberance), the critical
articles are adept at finding unique ways of elucidating the work of a
unique artist. Russell Brown writes helpfully of both the challenge and
process of coming to terms with Rooke’s work, Janice Kulyk Keefer
contributes a model example of how to read one of his short stories, and
Michael H. Keefer brings philosophical knowledge, independent thought,
and intellectual ingenuity to bear on the novel Shakespeare’s Dog, to
name only three.

In addition, there are two hitherto unpublished interviews with Rooke,
a particularly welcome up-to-date bibliography compiled by the editor,
and even a bonus DVD, which includes invaluable shots of Rooke “in
performance.”

White Gloves of the Doorman, then, fills a conspicuous gap in
Canada’s literary criticism. It can be challenging
reading—inevitably, since Rooke is a challenging writer—but the
rewards are bounteous. Highly recommended.