The Vancouver Stories: West Coast Fiction from Canada's Best Writers

Matt Hartman is a freelance editor and cataloguer, running Hartman Cataloguing, Editing and Indexing Services.

This anthology of 14 stories, all of which have previously appeared,
does a decent job of representing the city by the sea. The writers
all—or nearly all—call Vancouver home. Some have passed on to other
locales—Wayson Choy, whose selection from The Jade Peony is included
in the collection, now calls Toronto home. The terrific Alice Munro
(“What Is Remembered”) also spends most of her time back East.
Malcolm Lowry (“The Bravest Boat”) is, certainly, in an even better
place, as are Pauline Johnson (“The Two Sisters”) and Ethel Wilson
(“Down at English Bay”). Alive and kicking is the irrepressible
Douglas Coupland (“Fire at the Ativan Factory”), who also provides
the introduction. His list of “what makes Vancouver, Vancouver,”
includes, “in no particular order”: bridge traffic, mountains, tall
trees, outdoor sports, sushi, nude sunbathing, and “a really good
airport.” He goes on, “some of these items are cliché yet they
remain integral to the city’s character. Many of these traits are also
shared by other cities, but with Vancouver it’s the amount and
combination that make the place what it is.”

George Bowering, a two-time Governor General Award winner, is here with
a wonderful story called “Standing on Richards,” about a retired
English professor who tries to hustle his mind among street-corner
entrepreneurs who attempt to sell their bodies. Stephen Osborne, editor
of the excellent Vancouver-produced Geist magazine, is also here, with
“Time Zone,” excerpted from his novel For You Who Grow Pale at the
Mention of Vancouver. The futurist William Gibson is here with “The
Winter Market,” as are Lee Maracle (“Polka Partners, Uptown Indians
and White Folks”) and Shani Mootoo (“Out on Main Street”), whose
story in dialect is strangely readable. Add to the mix a story by Zsuzsi
Gartner (“City of My Dreams”), Timothy Taylor’s excerpt from
Stanley Park (“The Canvasback”), and Madeleine Thien’s “A Map of
the City,” and you have a dozen plus two excellent fictions. Do they
truly represent Vancouver? I think they do.