The Mikveh Man and Other Stories

Donalee Moulton-Barrett was a writer and editor in Halifax.

The Mikveh Man and Other Stories is a collection that almost was good. Most of the stories, however, are predictable. The characters are stereotypes, and what little action is taking place is doing so at a snail’s pace.

Take, for example, “Little Boxes.” It deals with Nathan Frudkin’s last day on earth. We are carefully introduced to Frudkin’s relatives and skim quickly through his past life. Frudkin is bothered by the fact that his father gave him a set of boxes as a child and he has given two of these away. Up until this point in the story, the characters are well developed and the story, though it unfolds methodically, still holds our attention. Then comes the clincher. In walks the neighborhood priest with one of the two missing boxes and voilà: Nathan Frudkin draws his last breath. Oh brother.

Drache also tries her hand at stories without a “realistic” bent. There is a fable and a piece of satire. Neither is as good as “Little Boxes.” Drache is trying too hard and it shows. There is very little imagination in any of the work and the stories themselves read like a beginner’s first draft.

There are phrases, even whole scenes, that make the reader sit up and take interest, but unfortunately they are all too rare. Drache has a talent for character development but she needs to work harder on giving her characters a life of their own — before she starts molding them for the reader. What we have now, for the most part, are simply stereotypes. The same is true of her plots. They are only half-crafted. And half-characters engaged in half-action do not make good reading.