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SensualPoet · 09-01-2011, 09:21 PM

Light Lifting by Alexander MacLeod
Publisher: Biblioasis, October 2010

Shortlisted for both the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize and 2011 Commonwealth Prize, Alexander MacLeod's collection of short stories, Light Lifting, comes by its praises honestly. It is the author’s debut collection (although the stories had already appeared in various literary magazines). One newspaper reviewer called MacLeod "an unexpectedly physical writer" and "an explorer of gritty masculinity and adrenalin-fuelled anger ... he can also be surpassingly delicate".

The seven stories include:
Miracle Mile in which two young men compete with and encourage each other in cross-country track tour;
Wonder About Parents featuring a sick child at Christmas visiting grandparents;
The title tale, Light Lifting, about a young man joining a work crew one summer to lay bricks;
Adult Beginner I in which college kids dare each other and dive from a hotel rooftop into the river;
The Loop, about a twelve year old who delivers prescriptions and other goods from a local pharmacy, meeting an odd collection of regular customers in their homes;
Good Kids, a family of four boys and the integration of a new neighbour into their closed clique;
The Number Three, following an autoworker dealing with a tragic accident that changes his life.

It has to be said there was heavy weather encountered completing this collection. It's not just that the stories are often downbeat; they often end mid-note, crying out for some sort of resolution. Nor is the language gratifying; it is more plodding, scattered even and frequently obtuse for no particularly clear reason. In reflecting on the collection, I asked myself which story sat with me, that I internalised, and perhaps it was "The Loop" that came closest. But for most of them, I barely connected with these lives portrayed that were so grim, so unnecessary, so frankly little engaging. Once back on the shelf, I doubt if this one is coming down again.

Available for Kindle and Kobo for about $10 and $12 respectively; and in paperback for about $17.

09-01-2011, 09:21 PM	#38
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Alexander MacLeod - Light Lifting Light Lifting by Alexander MacLeod Publisher: Biblioasis, October 2010 Shortlisted for both the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize and 2011 Commonwealth Prize, Alexander MacLeod's collection of short stories, Light Lifting, comes by its praises honestly. It is the author’s debut collection (although the stories had already appeared in various literary magazines). One newspaper reviewer called MacLeod "an unexpectedly physical writer" and "an explorer of gritty masculinity and adrenalin-fuelled anger ... he can also be surpassingly delicate". The seven stories include: Miracle Mile in which two young men compete with and encourage each other in cross-country track tour; Wonder About Parents featuring a sick child at Christmas visiting grandparents; The title tale, Light Lifting, about a young man joining a work crew one summer to lay bricks; Adult Beginner I in which college kids dare each other and dive from a hotel rooftop into the river; The Loop, about a twelve year old who delivers prescriptions and other goods from a local pharmacy, meeting an odd collection of regular customers in their homes; Good Kids, a family of four boys and the integration of a new neighbour into their closed clique; The Number Three, following an autoworker dealing with a tragic accident that changes his life. It has to be said there was heavy weather encountered completing this collection. It's not just that the stories are often downbeat; they often end mid-note, crying out for some sort of resolution. Nor is the language gratifying; it is more plodding, scattered even and frequently obtuse for no particularly clear reason. In reflecting on the collection, I asked myself which story sat with me, that I internalised, and perhaps it was "The Loop" that came closest. But for most of them, I barely connected with these lives portrayed that were so grim, so unnecessary, so frankly little engaging. Once back on the shelf, I doubt if this one is coming down again. Available for Kindle and Kobo for about $10 and $12 respectively; and in paperback for about $17.