Book

I saw three ships : West End stories

Richardson, Bill, 1955- author

2019

Overview

\"From one of Canada's most beloved radio personalities comes this short story collection set around Christmastime in Vancouver's beloved West End neighborhood. The eight linked stories in Bill Richardson's I Saw Three Ships take their direction from the seasonal tug-of-war between expectation and disappointment that occurs as the light deepens. The pieces give shelter to characters whose experiences of transcendence leave them more alienated than consoled. Rosellen, forced to move because her building is slated for demolition, has her last meeting with J.C., the ghost who's entertained (and sometimes tormented) her for the last forty years. Frances, undergoing chemotherapy, discovers a gorgeous wig that might be made from the hair sold by Della in O. Henry's ironic short story “The Gift of the Magi.” Bonnie, writing to Peter Gzowski to apprise him of the death of her mother, Gzowski's biggest fan, settles on the best way to disperse her mother's ashes. On Christmas Eve, a man whose name happens to be Leonard Cohen becomes the unwitting plaything of Saint Zita of Lucca and walks through Vancouver's snowy Downtown neighborhood wearing a wedding gown. These are quirky stories, sometimes twisted, sometimes tender, intended for anyone who's ever been stuck with their wheels spinning at the corner of Pagan and Holy. The stories are about secular people who undergo epiphanic moments of revelation or transcendence, experiences for which faith offers a custom-built cabinet with lots of tidy drawers, but that leave the religiously unpersuaded feeling like the fuselage has depressurized and they're gasping for breath, praying to forces unnamed for the mask to fall\"-- Provided by publisher.

• Publisher: Talonbooks
• Subject: Christmas stories. / Short stories, Canadian. / West End (Vancouver, B.C.) Fiction. / Vancouver (B.C.) Fiction.
• ISBN: 9781772012330, 1772012335

Item info:

1 item available

1 item total in all locations

Holdings :

Call Number	Copies	Material	Location
PR9199.3.R467 A6 2019	1	BOOK	AUTOSTORE