The Falling Woman

Kimberly J. Frail is a Digital Librarian for the Government of Alberta.

The Falling Woman is the ideal inaugural title for Random House
Canada’s new Vintage Tales series of short-story collections by
Canadian writers. With settings that range from the countryside around
Waterloo, Ontario, at the turn of the 20th century, to the present-day
urban sprawl of West Toronto, the 10 stories boast full-bodied
characters and rich narrative color.

Some of the female protagonists are present only in the memories or
thoughts of other characters; others are embodied by other objects, such
as the metaphorical representation of Mother Nature in “The Chlorine
Flower.” In an interview with January Magazine, Lambert explained that
while she did not set out to write the stories as a unified piece, many
of the characters use their subconscious as a means to understand and
interpret the events they experience in their waking life: like falling
in and out of a dream world.

Another common theme is that of transition and transformation. In
“Levitation,” a father finally confronts his grief for his deceased
wife and in the process becomes emotionally available to his son. In
“Annunciation,” a beautiful young factory clerk undergoes a
metaphorical transformation into a dark and mysterious sea creature in
order to escape her family’s and fiancé’s attempts to shape her
into their vision of perfection.

Lambert’s ability to expose the cracked core of human relationships
has garnered her the well-deserved praise of many literary critics, as
well as comparisons to two masters of the short-story form, Alice Munro
and Annie Proulx.