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The New Quarterly – Fall 2004/Winter 2005

Canadian Writers & Writing

Number 92

Fall/Winter 2004/2005

Mary Baken

As far as fiction goes, this issue of The New Quarterly is in a class of its own. The prose was consistently precise and original, the stories themselves well-crafted and well-developed. In fact, as I read these stories in a chronological order from front to back, it repeatedly seemed as if the following story far outshone the previous, as if the magazine simply surged forward with an ever increasing and ever impressive quality.

As far as fiction goes, this issue of The New Quarterly is in a class of its own. The prose was consistently precise and original, the stories themselves well-crafted and well-developed. In fact, as I read these stories in a chronological order from front to back, it repeatedly seemed as if the following story far outshone the previous, as if the magazine simply surged forward with an ever increasing and ever impressive quality. Loosely based on the theme of “Weddings & Other Disasters,” the stories explore the common themes of love, and marriage, and motherhood, and divorce though each approaches these topics in a truly unique and surprising way. I particularly enjoyed Vivette J. Kady’s “Most Wanted,” about the dwindling estrangement of a well-suited couple, and Carolyn Black’s “Baby Mouth,” an eerie and bizarre take on a woman struggling to accept her new role as a mother. Magazine editor Kim Jernigan’s interview with Mary Borsky was a great enhancement to appreciating Borsky’s story “Wedding Pictures,” though the story was fantastic on its own as well. The short stories in this issue of The New Quarterly were all so consistently good it’s difficult to single them out one by one or to narrow their depth and complexity into a single sentence. If you are looking for superior prose, I highly recommend this magazine. [The New Quarterly, St. Jerome’s University, 290 Westmount Rd., N. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]. Single issue $16.50. www.newquarterly.net/] – Mary Baken

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