Guernica Editions

Bell crafts vivid emotional and geographic terrains in his latest short fiction collection set in locations ranging from the Yukon to the historic Andalusian city of Granada. He showcases a set of predominantly male protagonists struggling to understand their changing place in society. In some cases drink and desperation are the modi operandi, as in the portrait of a Toronto family in the process of disintegration. Elderly coupledom is examined in close detail in [a story that] subtly conveys the mutual affection that can underlie ceaseless bickering. The most affecting stories eschew plot mechanics in favour of an amplification of the sense of place and its impact on characters' drives and identities. For instance, the opening story, "Mountains and Rivers and an Arctic Sea," describes the thought processes of a young boy who assists his father ferrying passengers across a glacial Rocky Mountain lake. Bell creates something eerie and atmospheric here, elevating the water and mountains beyond their status as expected CanLit motifs.