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Short Stories for Long Summer Days

Featured Top Picks • July 12, 2023 • RLBC

This summer, you’ve eaten a strawberry shortcake, but now it’s time to taste a short story.

Digestible in page length but rich in feeling, short stories are perfect for when you are short on time but want to experience an entire story without interruption. Fit these BC books into your summer flow and save that hefty brick of a book for winter.

Cover of Nothing Comes Back. A black and white deconstructed spiral made of clock parts.

Nothing Comes Back by Susan E. Lloy (Now Or Never)

Susan E. Lloy’s third short story collection contains “quietly absorbing stories with a superlative cast of characters” (Kirkus Reviews). Stories from further along the arc of life focus on age as the great divider, following characters roaming through the landscapes of their lives and surroundings, changing and being changed. 

Out now!

 

 

 

 

 

Cover of Hands Like Trees. Red background with figure of of person with branches for arms, feet, and head.Hands Like Trees by Sabyasachi Nag (Ronsdale Press)

A layered portrait of a family linked and separated by continents, this collection tells tales of the family members who went to Brampton, Ontario and the ones who stayed in Calcutta, India. The reader meets each character in turn, slowly learning the history of the whole family. Described as “haunting,” “sharp,” “fearless,” “enlightening,” and “enjoyable,” these stories pull you deep into a search for elusive happiness, identity, and belonging. 

Out now!

 

 

 

 

 

Cover of Her Courage Rises. Blue background with portraits of three women.Her Courage Rises: 50 Trailblazing Women of British Columbia and the Yukon by Haley Healey (Heritage House)

This collection of the life stories of historical women in BC showcases a range of individuals from Emily Carr to Cougar Annie to Florence Edenshaw. Recently shortlisted for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize, this collection introduces young readers to a diverse group of women who changed the face of history in unexpected ways and defied the expectations and gender norms of their times. 

Out now!

 

 

 

Cover of The Broken Heart of Winter. Sepia photo of a field with a windbreak of large trees.

The Broken Heart of Winter by Judy LeBlanc (Caitlin Press & Dagger Editions)

Three women, three centuries, and the effect of the Acadian Expulsion. Taking the reader on a journey from Camp D’Espérance, New Brunswick, to contemporary Victoria, BC, this book follows the simultaneous imprint and erosion of Acadian cultural identity. The Broken Heart of Winter speaks to the capacity of the human spirit to love, to adapt, and to carry on. 

Out now!