Thanks for Listening: Stories and Short Fictions

R. Gordon Moyles is professor emeritus of English at the University of
Alberta. He is co-author of Imperial Dreams and Colonial Realities:
British Views of Canada, 1880–1914, author of The Salvation Army and
the Public, and editor of “Improved by Cult

Ernest Buckler (1908–1984) is remembered chiefly for three outstanding
novels/fictional memoirs: The Mountain and the Valley (1952), The
Cruelest Month (1963), and Ox Bells and Fireflies (1968), which
established him as one of Canada’s major writers. Together they
celebrate the beauty and mourn the loss of rural innocence, but are
loved mainly for their brilliant evocation of rural (Nova Scotia)
lifestyle and for Buckler’s ability to create special moments of joy
and heartbreak.

Among the short fictions gathered in this volume is the much-loved
“Penny in the Dust,” but many of the others are appearing for the
first time. Buckler’s inimitable style (seemingly casual yet cleverly
metaphoric), his brilliantly evocative descriptions, and his subtle
character portrayals are epitomized in a profusion of fictional moments.
Anyone who has never read such masterpieces as “Just Like Everyone
Else” or “The Quarrel” or “Humble Pie” now has an opportunity
to do so, one that should not be missed. Granted, as the rather
pretentious introduction makes clear, the collection is intended for
university students, but Buckler’s stories deserve a much wider
audience than that. So, ignore the “lit-crit” bumph and enjoy some
of the finest stories ever written.