Down the Unmarked Roads

Kim Fahner is the author of You Must Imagine the Cold Here.

On the dedication page in this fine collection of short fiction, the
author has written: “Every life is a story, some told, some untold.
Every life, long or short, is a pilgrimage.”

The collection’s 10 stories all have connections to the Ottawa
Valley, a place steeped in the rich cadence of Irish culture. One only
has to pull out a map and examine the place names to discern the
influence of Ireland. Finnigan’s characters come to life with vibrant
dialogue that graces vignettes of place and circumstance. As a writer,
Finnigan is able to transport her reader back in time in such a way that
one forgets time has passed. She reminds us that while society has
changed dramatically since the turn of the century, the journey we call
life hasn’t changed that much at all, and the roads we travel each day
are still uncertain.