Hard Boiled Love: An Anthology of Noir Love

Britta Santowski is a freelance writer in Victoria.

Hard Boiled Love is an anthology of 12 works that dissect the
shortcomings of love. In the introduction, the editors frame Sinclair
Ross’s “One’s a Heifer” as the genesis of this “noir love”
genre. The Canadian classic, included at the end of the collection,
tells how a young boy in search of two lost cows (one of which is a
heifer) stumbles on what he suspects is a crime of passion.

The collection begins with Vern Smith’s “The Gimmick,” in which
an investigating officer’s sexual urges override his limited
intellect. In Stan Rogal’s “Lie to Me Baby,” innocent sexual
role-playing shifts into something much more dangerous. “Bottom
Walker” by James Powell tells the story of a man whose well-rehearsed
party tales wither with age while horrible truths seep through. The
devastating loss of self-love is detailed in “Don and Ron” by Mike
Barnes. Editors Peter Sellers and Kerry Schooley each include a
previously published story, “Trophy Hunter” and “Buying the
Farm” (under the pen name “John Swan”), respectively. Other
contributors include William Bankier, Barbara Fradkin, Gregory Ward,
Jean Rae Baxter, and Linda Helson.

While the calibre of all these stories is quite high, I am disappointed
that all but four of the stories have been previously published and that
the collection is so small. Surely in this angst-ridden apologetic
nation of vague identity, there are more than 12 writers with fresh
tales of soured love. That said, Hard Boiled Love is a satisfying
sampling of dark and lusty Canadian love.