cover image Magia D'Amore

Magia D'Amore

Murray Pomerance. Sun & Moon, $12.95 (130pp) ISBN 978-1-55713-308-3

The six stories in Canadian author Pomerance's new collection use the classic characters of commedia dell'arte, the Italian theater tradition that originated in the 16th century, , as a means to critique human duplicity, erotic entanglements and self-obsession. These are not so much independent tales as episodes reimagining and spinning events in European history, literary and political, from 15th-century Venice to 19th-century France. Archetypal characters such as Columbine, Pierrot, Arlequin, Ardenzio, the Countess of Frangipane and Scaramouche are the players that enact Pomerance's scathingly witty and mischievous scenes, lending their frantic marionette energy to each new situation. Columbine and Arlequin struggle to come to terms with their love for each other as weddings, love affairs and other intrigues occur in their peripheral vision. Their comically theatrical world is not without its violent moments; in one brief episode, a messenger is pushed from a bridge while searching for a cure for unstoppable laughter, while in another a servant uses the decapitated head of Henry VIII to prove to Arlequin that the king is dead. Thrilling tricks of language, such as sudden immersions into Middle English and lush oddities like ""hemidemisemiquavers"" keep the narrative on its toes, never entirely lucid but certainly never dull. The book's irreverent leaping is both its strength and its weakness, aiming for coherent social commentary while maintaining a cacophonously poetic tone. The writer's sensitivity is ubiquitous; quiet observations such as ""A wind in the street is shuffling through the fading chestnut trees,"" offer serene islands in the visionary and disorienting swirl and flux. (Apr.)