Durable Tumblers

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

“I’ve stopped eating,” one of Michael Kenyon’s narrators tells
us. “Everything tastes of teeth.” She’s a heavy-drinking woman,
she admits, trying to rid herself of her “personal blues” with
visits to the budgerigars at Zellers.

Kenyon controls his stories tightly, mining his spare images for power.
Here is a characteristic sequence of sentences (from “Chaste”):
“We’ve just called the police. My skin smells of chlorine. We’re
drinking brandy.” The author is clearly intrigued by chaos theory.
Hitchhikers, predators, and unsolved mysteries flow through the
membranes that connect these 11 stories, turning up far from where they
started out. For example, two dead women, drowned in the same lake (one
a suicide, the other accidentally murdered), discuss their memories.

Kenyon’s stories have garnered considerable recognition. The title
story was shortlisted for the National and Western Magazine Awards and
the Journey Prize.