How to Get There from Here

Britta Santowski is a freelance writer in Victoria, British Columbia.

Michelle Berry’s first collection of short stories features multiple
perspectives, unexpected twists, and explorations of female bonds,
heterosexual design, and homosexual desire.

Berry’s unveiling of multiple layers is best demonstrated by two
stories that deal with the same incident. “Do You Know Who Emily Carr
Is?” gives the reader a glimpse of a rather odd incident involving a
mother and daughter at an art gallery. “The Most Peculiar Thing”
develops this incident, shifting the end result from odd to unsettling.
We are left with the realization that, for every tale told, there are
endless untold versions. This theme is reinforced in “Cosmetics,”
which explores the distance between seeing and perceiving, and the ways
in which a person’s perspective is tainted by his or her desires.

Berry’s stories sometimes conclude on a formulaic note (a consequence
of her fondness for twist endings). All in all, however, this is an
intriguing—and eclectic—collection.