Blind Man's Drum

Christina Pike is a member of the Evaluation Division, Department of
Education, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

This collection of linked stories is a treasure. Bentley doesn’t
experiment or push the envelope in any striking way, but he does have a
fine talent for characterization and storytelling.

The stories are told from the perspective of Robert, a young boy who
lives with his grandparents in Biggar, Saskatchewan. His grandfather is
an eccentric patriarch who is allowing himself to go blind for
philosophical purposes. His grandmother is a wilful matriarch who
believes that she has the gift of seeing the future. Robert’s mother,
who lives in Vancouver, is trying to get ahead so she can take care of
him on her own. His aunt and cousins live under the yoke of an abusive
man; in one of the more striking stories, “Doreen Forever,” Robert
is carted along by his grandmother as she goes to take her daughter and
grandchildren away from this dedicated brute.

Blind Man’s Drum is highly recommended for its characters’
combination of humour, strength, and frailty.