History Notes of a Hogtown Hustler

Deborah Dowson is a children’s librarian in Pickering, Ontario.

These sensitive, autobiographical stories are about people the author
has met over the course of his life in Toronto. In each story, a
character description is followed by the author’s perception of the
character’s personality and motivation. The action usually involves an
interaction between the narrator and the character. What is memorable
about the collection is what it reveals about the author’s personality
and moral perspective; it is through his relationship with others that
Rowe seeks to understand himself.

Rowe’s writing style is conversational and friendly, but also formal
and reserved. Reading his stories feels like chatting with a friend
about people we have known and how they made us feel. Unfortunately, one
tires of this after a while, and the repetitive pattern of the stories
becomes tedious.