Stained Glass

Lori A. Dunn is a freelance writer in New Westminster, British Columbia.

The title of this novella reflects both the main character’s art and
her spiritual rebirth as a Catholic in adulthood. And like a work of
stained glass, the book is unrealistic in its representation of life.

X is in a toxic relationship with Christophe, “who fancies himself a
poet” and, according to X, speaks “in metaphors of personal
obsession.” Is this self-mockery or self-reference? The author seems
to share Christophe’s obsession, for her novella is essentially a
medley of incomprehensible metaphors like “X cannot eat. A muffin with
coffee ignites inside her body like fuel to a raging fire.” X’s
descent into her self-created emotional hell is muddied by a mish-mash
of metaphor and unclear prose that ultimately leaves the reader bored.