Half Brothers and Other Stories
These stories shimmer in summer heat under the gaze of a two-humped mountain and belong to the Cowichan Valley. Children born to ex-cons, lawyers, longshoremen, wood carvers, boxers, investors and gamblers write their own new-generation stories, at times melodic, often discordant, always determined to carry a tune.
Half Brothers is a masterly and unsentimental novella of the lives of two brothers left unchanneled by parental review. One brother is tough and likes to fight, the other does not. One is the father’s favourite and the other hides when he can. But in an extraordinary reversal of roles, and as the years pass, readers ultimately learn which one has the true grit. In the four short stories; Ball and Chain, Bon, Dick and Jane and Super Reader, Stenson uses wry wit to capture the voices of the young and old of small-town Duncan and area, in edgy juxtapositions. This is Canadian Literature at its best — calling forth a country that already exists. Flying beneath the radar, Stenson is one of our best fictionists.
Translating Women
Women are everywhere. You've probably noticed them. The short story collection, Translating Women, has women too. For each of the following stories found in the collection, a female character is identified and quoted.
Elvira's Thirtieth Birthday
> Elvira copes with turning thirty.
"He's dead, Edmund, I'm telling you. I've never seen a dead person before but you know one when you see them. He even looks funny. Kind of limp or something. He was all worked up and I was reading from the Book of Job to calm him down."
John Lennon's Car
> Emilia and her husband attend their friends' divorce party where possessions are up for auction.
"I saw $75.00 on the wicker picnic basket we bought them. I'm not sure we paid that much."
No One Can Fish Forever
> Young boy collects suicide notes. Molly's note to her husband says:
". . . you're the worst kind of Catholic there is just show up on Sunday and your slate is clean you could start saying your Hail Mary's and not stop until you die and God wouldn't listen."
Oil Paint
> Whistler is a painter. Growing up, Whistler's mother makes him commit to memory:
"My daddy is lazy. My daddy is a drunken fool. My daddy can't hold down a job. My daddy's useless."
Translating Women
> Narrator has a roommate, Muriel, he met at a garage sale, who changes places with Laura, the woman next door.
"Lloyd's staying at your place tonight . . . Something about deep message therapy treatment which needs to be delivered every two hours or it won't work."
CLICK: A girl with two pails.
> Budding photographer takes an interest in Sonja, his next door neighbour, who dances:
"Like a feather in a pirouette of wind . . . the cream colour of her skin painting her movements . . . her dress had previously hidden."
Simple
> Female trucker wants desperately to marry Harry Tulip.
"The first time I met Harry Tulip, he jumped on my lap between my 36-D and the steering wheel . . . I was wearing pants that day, instead of a skirt with no underwear like I do on hot days."
Nadine Needs Time To Think
> Nadine contemplates the marriages she is aware of in her cul-de-sac filling with snow one night, all the while considering Bob as a possible husband.
". . . an invisible current emanates from the transformer, which Bob placaes his boot on, adjusting the shoelace that is not undone but only has one loop. That's the kind of guy Bob is, she thinks, . . . he likes computers, likes their binary code, likes things in twos like loops and laces."
Learning to Cha Cha
> Rudy seeks to unlock the mystery of females with the help of his neighbour, Monica.
"There's another babysitting job for you if you're interested.|
"Monica phoned?"
"Mrs. Shepherd phoned. I've told you it's not polite to refer to her by her first name."
The Only Sign of Fire
> Instead of a night out with the boys at the pool hall, Lister lives in a tree house in his yard so he can keep an eye on his wife, Peggy.
"Would you like a hot cup of coffee?" I asked. "I don't have much room up here for visitors, but I could send a cup down if you don't mind it black."
The Short Life of Carmelita
> A time lapse account of Carmelita from birth to old age.
"She will spend too much time in her walker . . . will turn her right foot in, requiring special orthopedic shoes . . . the doctor will insist the problem can be solved in her sleep. If only all problems could be solved this way."
Hope
> Bus driver loses his load of passengers and picks up hitchhikers to make up for it. Cornelia says:
"We're looking for a cheap place to stay. Got to be pretty cheap cause we got no money."
Hot Wheels
> Family loses their son. Mel, the mother, is strong through it all.
"I want to be there a half hour early," Mel said.
"I don't see what difference that will make," Richard said.
"It will make a lot of difference to me. That's why we'll do it."
Lonnie And The Man With An Even Keel
> Lonnie tries to cast her organic spell on J. P. Riley.
"Marla sure does want to marry bad. Worries too much about her shallow bust if you ask me. Marla, I told her, think positive. You got a nice smile. Slim waist. You'll outgrow those pimples."
A Place You've Never Been
> Asia Mooney is nervy, shapely and a little scary and wants to liberate Donny the shoe salesman.
"I'd like you to rub me right here." Asia grabbed my hand and guided it between her legs.
"Asia, I said. "That wasn't called for."
"Oh yes it was," she said.
Wise Men Don't Have Speaking Parts
> Jessie finds the preacher's daughter, Beulah, in a compromised circumstance. Beulah's brother says:
"Beulah doesn't care. She doesn't care about hell or anything. She says hell is so full there's no room for her."
Horse Sense
> Danny Wilkinson meets Noreen on his first summer job. Noreen teaches him about horses and much more than horses.
"I knew you were a good kisser," she said. "A man's not worth two cents stuck together if he doesn't know how to kiss."
Elvira's Thirtieth Birthday
> Elvira copes with turning thirty.
"He's dead, Edmund, I'm telling you. I've never seen a dead person before but you know one when you see them. He even looks funny. Kind of limp or something. He was all worked up and I was reading from the Book of Job to calm him down."
John Lennon's Car
> Emilia and her husband attend their friends' divorce party where possessions are up for auction.
"I saw $75.00 on the wicker picnic basket we bought them. I'm not sure we paid that much."
No One Can Fish Forever
> Young boy collects suicide notes. Molly's note to her husband says:
". . . you're the worst kind of Catholic there is just show up on Sunday and your slate is clean you could start saying your Hail Mary's and not stop until you die and God wouldn't listen."
Oil Paint
> Whistler is a painter. Growing up, Whistler's mother makes him commit to memory:
"My daddy is lazy. My daddy is a drunken fool. My daddy can't hold down a job. My daddy's useless."
Translating Women
> Narrator has a roommate, Muriel, he met at a garage sale, who changes places with Laura, the woman next door.
"Lloyd's staying at your place tonight . . . Something about deep message therapy treatment which needs to be delivered every two hours or it won't work."
CLICK: A girl with two pails.
> Budding photographer takes an interest in Sonja, his next door neighbour, who dances:
"Like a feather in a pirouette of wind . . . the cream colour of her skin painting her movements . . . her dress had previously hidden."
Simple
> Female trucker wants desperately to marry Harry Tulip.
"The first time I met Harry Tulip, he jumped on my lap between my 36-D and the steering wheel . . . I was wearing pants that day, instead of a skirt with no underwear like I do on hot days."
Nadine Needs Time To Think
> Nadine contemplates the marriages she is aware of in her cul-de-sac filling with snow one night, all the while considering Bob as a possible husband.
". . . an invisible current emanates from the transformer, which Bob placaes his boot on, adjusting the shoelace that is not undone but only has one loop. That's the kind of guy Bob is, she thinks, . . . he likes computers, likes their binary code, likes things in twos like loops and laces."
Learning to Cha Cha
> Rudy seeks to unlock the mystery of females with the help of his neighbour, Monica.
"There's another babysitting job for you if you're interested.|
"Monica phoned?"
"Mrs. Shepherd phoned. I've told you it's not polite to refer to her by her first name."
The Only Sign of Fire
> Instead of a night out with the boys at the pool hall, Lister lives in a tree house in his yard so he can keep an eye on his wife, Peggy.
"Would you like a hot cup of coffee?" I asked. "I don't have much room up here for visitors, but I could send a cup down if you don't mind it black."
The Short Life of Carmelita
> A time lapse account of Carmelita from birth to old age.
"She will spend too much time in her walker . . . will turn her right foot in, requiring special orthopedic shoes . . . the doctor will insist the problem can be solved in her sleep. If only all problems could be solved this way."
Hope
> Bus driver loses his load of passengers and picks up hitchhikers to make up for it. Cornelia says:
"We're looking for a cheap place to stay. Got to be pretty cheap cause we got no money."
Hot Wheels
> Family loses their son. Mel, the mother, is strong through it all.
"I want to be there a half hour early," Mel said.
"I don't see what difference that will make," Richard said.
"It will make a lot of difference to me. That's why we'll do it."
Lonnie And The Man With An Even Keel
> Lonnie tries to cast her organic spell on J. P. Riley.
"Marla sure does want to marry bad. Worries too much about her shallow bust if you ask me. Marla, I told her, think positive. You got a nice smile. Slim waist. You'll outgrow those pimples."
A Place You've Never Been
> Asia Mooney is nervy, shapely and a little scary and wants to liberate Donny the shoe salesman.
"I'd like you to rub me right here." Asia grabbed my hand and guided it between her legs.
"Asia, I said. "That wasn't called for."
"Oh yes it was," she said.
Wise Men Don't Have Speaking Parts
> Jessie finds the preacher's daughter, Beulah, in a compromised circumstance. Beulah's brother says:
"Beulah doesn't care. She doesn't care about hell or anything. She says hell is so full there's no room for her."
Horse Sense
> Danny Wilkinson meets Noreen on his first summer job. Noreen teaches him about horses and much more than horses.
"I knew you were a good kisser," she said. "A man's not worth two cents stuck together if he doesn't know how to kiss."
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“Toil and Peaceful Life” is the axiom that lies at the heart of Doukhobor spiritual, personal, and community values. These values have always been, and continue to be, integral to the people who belong to this historically rich and vibrant community. However, as the history of the Doukhobor people demonstrates, putting this into practice was more difficult than envisioned and, paradoxically, has generated a great deal of conflict within the various spheres of the community itself — most certainly it has created conflicts with those from outside their self-contained community. It is at this juncture of conflict in the decades of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s that the name Doukhobor was to etch itself into the Canadian consciousness. Stenson sets his novel’s action against the backdrop of the Kootenay Region in and around Nelson, BC.
To say Svoboda is a “Doukhobor” novel is misleading, for it is much more than that. While Doukhobor culture plays a central role in creating conflict, from the first few pages right to the end, it is also a novel of coming of age, a novel of accepting fate, and a great entertaining story. The story of Vasili, who walks in the shadow of the past and in the light of the future, marks this novel as a distinctive cultural read in a territory where few writers have gone before."
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The launch for Svoboda took place at Fairfield United Church in front of an enthusiastic crowd. We were fortunate enough to have at the launch the Victoria Doukhobor Choir seen here. Their singing and dancing was inspirational to say the least. After, we feasted on bread and borscht. It was quite a night. You can listen to a sample of their music by clicking HERE.
To say Svoboda is a “Doukhobor” novel is misleading, for it is much more than that. While Doukhobor culture plays a central role in creating conflict, from the first few pages right to the end, it is also a novel of coming of age, a novel of accepting fate, and a great entertaining story. The story of Vasili, who walks in the shadow of the past and in the light of the future, marks this novel as a distinctive cultural read in a territory where few writers have gone before."
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The launch for Svoboda took place at Fairfield United Church in front of an enthusiastic crowd. We were fortunate enough to have at the launch the Victoria Doukhobor Choir seen here. Their singing and dancing was inspirational to say the least. After, we feasted on bread and borscht. It was quite a night. You can listen to a sample of their music by clicking HERE.
Hanne and Her Brother
A Belgian family moves to the Cowichan Valley and adapt to their new country in ways they had never imagined. This is a novel about fitting in as best we can. And the pain of not fitting in. It's about coming to a new place and learning the rules. So many rules. Hanne at first misses her brother, and then she finds her brother in a manner she would never have imagined possible.
