M H Gaboury

13 Unlucky Stories M H Gaboury

A family dog goes berserk and causes a moral dilemma. Cancer leads to friendship, romance, and trouble. An Indie writer's suicide triggers a community of amateur writers. A man obsessed with a disturbing novel seeks out Jennifers to satiate his twisted lust. Nine other storylines complete this 'unlucky' maiden collection. The keynote story is right in the middle of this fray. Story number seven may be, ironically, the most unlucky story of the thirteen-for five actual persons. In The Making of Award-Winning Literature, five literal literary figures are pertinently lampooned. Readers who are familiar with, and fed up by, Canada's grandstanding 'luminaries' of fiction, will surely lap this story up as a cat would its warm bowl of milk. Or it may be that a reader prefers something stronger than milk. In that case, some novelists give readers vinegar to drink; Mr. Gaboury takes that vinegar and transforms it into wine. It is a story that few writers would dare to write, or even fantasize about writing. Mr. Gaboury is not intimidated by winners of Giller Prizes, Bookers, or Pulitzers. His usual shtick is criticism. His talent for that is perhaps what makes this story the galling, prickly piece of fiction that it is. Unusual and inviting are the preludes to each story, supplying the reader with a few words of context. How often have readers desired some word from the author about how a story came about, or for what reason it was written? Readers appreciate thoughtful gratuities. This author is a generous man.