Following on the heels of her critically acclaimed first collection Hot Town and Other Stories, an examination of relationships within communities continues in this new collection of short fiction, Something’s Burning. The twenty-first century speeds ahead with fast-changing ideas about culture and identity, and a new choir of voices are telling their long-suppressed stories. Outdated belief systems are challenged. Society norms and hierarchies crumble. But fresh ideas cause tension between generations, sexes, races and neighbours. The population is at odds about the revised script. Is it the end of misogyny, or the end of men? Is it the end of social injustice or the end of loyalty? Is it the end of discrimination or the end of common sense? Some characters in these stories are oblivious to social change. Some are committed to stopping it. Some are invested in promoting their agendas at all cost. The bumper stickers on pick up trucks in the Foodland parking lot warn you that conflict awaits in the cereal aisle. The spacious landscapes where these stories take place are big enough for many opinions, but small enough to fall back on nostalgic principles. They represent the spectrum of joy and loss, and the author’s enduring love for those who can find a balance between them.
“A Best Book of Fiction Selection, 2022.”
– CBC Books
“Readers of Something’s Burning will no doubt discover numerous moving, powerful, and offbeat moments of their own, as each of the four sections contains its share of epiphanies that will ignite readers’ emotions.”
– Shrapnel Magazine
Stunning – impossible to stop once you start.
– Nancy Lam, author of ‘The Loyal Daughter’
