The Lady's Man and Other Stories

M. Wayne Cunningham is a past executive director of the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and the former director of Academic and Career Programs at
East Kootenay Community College.

This captivating collection contains a novella and two short stories.
The novella, titled The Lady’s Man, relates the thoughts of a man who
has tumbled down a staircase. As he lies immobilized, he recalls his
life as a “clever, opportunistic and ruthless” businessman who
pursued his social-climbing career while leaving “women and children
behind him like the detritus of a careless picknicker.” As his life
slowly ebbs away, he blames his lovers, male and female, for his
misfortunes. Will he get an undeserved reprieve or will he receive his
just deserts for letting his friend Neville carry a terrible secret to
the grave?

Three Sides of a Triangle is the story of a love triangle that begins
when a 34-year-old Vancouverite, bored with her marriage and diagnosed
with carcinoma, decides to contact a former boyfriend in Toronto as a
“part of her recovery program.” They begin an affair that is, “by
merest chance,” discovered by the wife. The points of view of all
three characters are presented as the tragic consequences of the affair
unfold.

Humor and irony pervade the second short story, A Prosaic Love. Miss
Roselyn Paget, an editorial assistant, is helping Mr. Montague, a
retired former bank manager, with his novel. Mr. Montague’s wife
resents her husband’s working relationship with Miss Paget. When Miss
Paget’s loses the only copy of Mr. Montague’s manuscript, she and
the forgetful author must spend even more time together painstakingly
reconstructing it.

Linde Ebruk’s collection is a brief but enjoyable excursion.