The Jaguar Temple and Other Stories

Louise E. Allin, a poet and short-story writer, is also an English instructor at Cambrian College.

The neo-Edwardian “Falling” is a deceptively slow start to this
otherwise engaging collection of short stories. Keith dices skilfully
with characterization, plot, and description and knows language like an
old friend. In a search for answers lost in the chambers of the mind,
she takes the reader on a whirlwind ride across time and place, from the
Quebec townships and the exotic wealth of Hong Kong to the shattered
temples of Tikal and the moldering halls of a dowager hotel in the Alps.
Another strength is that Keith is a talent with point of view.
“Rabbits” and its twin, “Karl’s Story,” follow sad marital
broils from two conflicting perspectives, both true and both false. The
charming “Afternoon at the Bellerive” explores the discreet
degeneration of nobility universes away from Canada.

Sisters, lovers, friends, and generations in conflict all inhabit
Keith’s pages. The pace is comfortable, the ambience select.
Conversation wraps the characters like a well-tailored suit. Description
and detail highlight her themes with unerring accuracy. Her stories
prove she is a master of her craft.