Home from the Vinyl Cafe: A Year of Stories

Description

256 pages
Contains Illustrations
$29.99
ISBN 0-670-88216-X
DDC C813'.54

Year

1998

Contributor

Reviewed by Marcia Sweet

Marcia Sweet, former editor of the Queen’s Quarterly, is an
information consultant and freelance editor.

Review

This refreshing collection of stories about family and community belongs
in the best tradition of Canadian humour. There are sweet and bitter
surprises in these stories, as well as much cleverness and occasional
hilarity. In “Labour Days,” the author sympathetically depicts the
crushing weight of a demanding job on a working mother. The weirdly
funny but believable “Burd” offers thoughtful commentary on media
hype as it focuses on the zealotry of “birders.” “Sourdough”
deals with the themes of hubris and pride as a husband reveals
surprising things about his personality to his longtime wife. Anyone who
likes uncontrived, low-key humour will enjoy this book.

Citation

McLean, Stuart., “Home from the Vinyl Cafe: A Year of Stories,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed December 9, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/617.