Musical Dogs

Description

152 pages
$15.95
ISBN 0-7780-1028-7
DDC C813'.54

Publisher

Year

1996

Contributor

Reviewed by Martha Wilson

Martha Wilson is Canadian correspondent for the Japan Times (Tokyo) and
a Toronto-based freelance editor and writer.

Review

George McWhirter’s stories feature characters who are blessed with odd
talents and cursed with impossible lives. In “A Christmas Chorale,”
for example, Olaf (Glenn) Fairchild, a dedicated cellist, wants to give
his wife a dog to help make up for the hours he spends practising. When
Fairchild’s pregnant wife leaves, the dog remains behind, as a sort of
replacement.

We also encounter beautifully told stories of inept longing and
inarticulate need. A notable example is “The Dead Road Map of
America,” which is strongly reminiscent of Richard Ford’s writing.
Some of McWhirter’s most inventive and pleasing images have a Canadian
sensibility: “Colum’s moods were long and ran through the middle of
him: CN/CP trains, taking time to get going, but once moving not to be
stopped until they had reached a logical or moral destination.”

Musical Dogs is a collection to cherish.

Citation

McWhirter, George., “Musical Dogs,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed November 26, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/29457.