A June Night in the Late Cenozoic

Stan Chung teaches English at the College of New Caledonia in Prince
George, B.C.

Short-story collections can be many things: uplifting, depressing,
comical, angry. Robert Allen’s first collection is maddening, because
the writer exhibits an impressive talent for writing and storytelling
but doesn’t allow the reader to feel more than entertained. Allen’s
stories are based on quirky ideas: what would happen if the Gaza Strip
were moved to your lawn; what would happen if you tried to make a
mechanical butterfly. These ideas help most of the stories achieve a
modest success, because they read easily and captivate at times. But in
the end, the reader wants more; the reader’s frustration that such a
talented writer doesn’t pursue deeper, less conceptual ideas begins to
get in the way. If only this writer were to push himself emotionally and
enter the lives of his characters. What might be achieved? In sum, this
is an entertaining collection with rather superficial characters and
interesting themes.