Beginning with the Mirror

Dubé offers the reader 10 hauntingly poetic visions of everyday situations with a supernatural bent. At first the stories seem unconnected, but themes quickly appear: earth, air, fire, water, love, loss. The writing is both lyrical and oblique, creating a dense landscape of meaning and symbolism and resisting the casual reader while rewarding those who take the time to study at their leisure. (“I am a metaphor... Or perhaps ‘I’ am a metaphor, because like all figures of speech, I am exploratory, empty in myself, waiting to be perceived, completed by your participation.”) Many of the stories contain implicit or explicit gay romance and eroticism, adding an extra dimension to the explorations of self. While this work definitely isn’t for everyone, Dubé’s method of tap-dancing on the edge of magical realism with weighty language is admirable for its artistry if not its accessibility. (Oct.)