cover image ARTISTS WHAT'S LEFT US

ARTISTS WHAT'S LEFT US

Aislinn Hunter, . . Raincoast/Polestar, $14.95 (208pp) ISBN 978-1-55192-412-0

Canadian writer Hunter struggles to make the transition from poetry to fiction in her debut collection, an uneven affair that consists of a brisk but touching novella and six up-and-down short stories. The title novella deals with the plight of a Londoner named Emma who conceives a child with her married lover. Peevish and annoyed, Emma is at first too prickly to win the reader's affection as she vents her anger at her lover for providing only halfhearted emotional and financial support. But Hunter writes insightfully about Emma's dilemmas and emotions once her protagonist begins to assert her independence, and the graceful finale features an intriguing shift in which Emma begins to delve into her family history in Dublin and then plans a journey there to have the baby. "Hagiography" is a quirky tale describing the unique romantic situation of a woman who believes she has a divine calling to work in a porn palace; the denouement is surprising and touching. The whimsical "At the Bus Stop in Love with the Idea" relates an encounter on a Dublin bus between an ordinary man and a troubled woman obsessed with his argyle socks. "We Live in This World" is a poignant story of family love and loss. Other stories are more problematic: several are based on ill-conceived, clumsily developed conceits, and Hunter's habit of building her tales around disaffected women occurs at the expense of underdeveloped male characters. The potential for excellence shines through in the second half of Hunter's novella, and one hopes she will build on her ability to express epiphanic moments in clear, economical prose. (Mar.)