The Mighty Currawongs & Other Stories

In the brief but effective story that introduces this new collection from Doyle (Mink River), the protagonist experiences a moment when "everything cracked." It's hardly filled with swelling strings or the promise of happily ever after, but it does signal a real divide. In his quiet and economical way, Doyle excels at capturing such moments. Sometimes the change is momentous, as when a jazz band's singer suddenly loses a certain key texture to her voice; other times, as when the archbishop loses his faith, the consequences aren't as thunderbolt-shattering as expected. And yet other times, it's the reader's consciousness that cracks; an increasingly rancorous exchange between a couple that seems sure to end in violence or breakup surprises us by ending "Did you remember to buy toilet paper and coffee beans?" Relationships can be like that.