Kilter: 55 Fictions

Ronald Charles Epstein is a Toronto-based freelance writer and published poet.

Kilter: 55 Fictions is Victoria author John Gould’s second collection
of minimalist short stories. Gould’s work may not impress cynics who
dismiss minimalism as a form of literary laziness and yet another
symptom of cultural decline. Fortunately, the author treats his work as
a challenge. At his best, he creates multi-layered fiction in as little
as one page.

Some of these stories are infused with dark, edgy humour. In “The
Perfection of the Moment,” a manual for heterosexual victims of
violent homophobes, the narrator advises victims to avoid making
homophobic remarks to hospital doctors who might be gay, reminding them
to “Consider how your luck has gone so far this evening.”

“What You’re Ready For” expertly manipulates the reader. The
protagonist attends a lecture given by “Edgar O. Laird, PhD, esteemed
author, therapist and guru.” The doctor’s reference to a Catskills
retreat featuring “Ben Roshi, the great Jewish Zen Master” leads one
to believe that this is light satire. However, when Laird exhorts his
audience to live in the moment (“as though it’s your last!”), he
is shot by the narrator. This jarring change in tone works because the
reader is too shocked to wonder if the author is using a stale literary
trick.

John Gould a skilled miniaturist who faces the challenges of his craft
with wit and resourcefulness.