The War in Heaven

Thomas M.F. Gerry is an associate professor of English at Laurentian
University and the editor of Arachne.

The eight stories in Nussey’s second collection are humorous, subtly
erotic, and tinged with bitterness. Several are set in Kingston,
Ontario. Recurring themes include the mid-life search for meaning and
the conflict between seekers after intensity or possibility and those
who are content to go with the flow. In the first story, “Flamingo:
Part One,” we are introduced to Rosemary, a mysterious figure who
turns up in two later stories. In this initial tale, the narrator hears
about her experiences with a variety of husbands and lovers as he takes
her for a ride in the countryside. The stories she tells are
fragmentary. As the narrator puts it, “Rosemary’s story is like a
hoop of cloud, and when I try to hold it like this wheel in my hands it
squirts out and doubles in with no beginning or end.”

The War in Heaven is an accomplished and often brilliant collection.