Future Tense: New English Fiction from Quebec

Edward L. Edmonds is a professor of education at the University of
Prince Edward Island and honorary chief of the Mi’kmaq of Prince
Edward Island.

These short stories exemplify creative writing at its best. All the
authors show remarkable deftness in character portrayal. Their prose is
supple, invariably conversational, and at times racy. They produce
striking images (husbands “as yet unflushed from cover”), authentic
child-observations (“You’ve got a hole in your hair just like my
Dad’s”), and such innovative phrases as “a smear of moon.” The
authors show an easy familiarity with that most valuable of tenses, the
continuous present. They also exploit the advantages of using direct
speech to give a sense of immediacy. Atmosphere is effectively
generated, as in the feeling of trepidation preceding a meeting with
Mayan Indians.

Whatever the future may hold for the English language in Quebec, Future
Tense makes enjoyable reading.