I became an instant fan of Toronto author Danila Botha after reading her first full-length novel, Too Much on the Inside (2015, Quattro Books) last year, concluding: “This is an impressive first novel from this young, energetic author and it is my hope that more titles will be forthcoming.” [perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#1e72bd” class=”” size=””]Ms. Botha’s writing has definitely matured and now writes about relationships from a different focal point: a more experienced one; the characters a bit older, but no less afflicted with life’s problems.[/perfectpullquote]I didn’t have too long of a wait, for Ms Botha has just released a collection of new short stories entitled For All of the Men (and Some of the Women) I’ve Known (2016, Tightrope Books). There are eighteen stories, all grouped under various headings such as Meeting, Falling In, Falling Out, Friendship and finally, Resolution. As you can guess, these stories are all about personal relationships and its various stages. Here, Ms Botha is at her best and she has noticeably matured in her writing since releasing the small short story collectionGot No Secrets in 2010 (also from Tightrope Books), a group of rather ‘raw’ stories of the victims of addiction, abuse, rape and suicide based on her volunteer work with Na-Me-Res, an organisation benefiting the homeless.
Yes, Ms Botha’s writing has definitely matured, and now she writes about relationships from a different focal point: more experienced, the characters a bit older, but no less afflicted with life’s problems, whether it is a new bride emotionally abused by her new mother-in-law and sister-in-law in “My Second Family”, childhood friends who help each other through their addiction issues in “The Womanizer”, a woman who converts to Judaism for the man she loves in “It’s Our Life”, or the betrayal of love by successful lawyer in “How People Work” all are stories that hold out a promising ‘light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel’ type of ending; the person (usually the woman) coming out of the ordeal, stronger, wiser, more in touch with herself than ever before. Take for instance “The Keeper of Your Secrets” about a woman who is a veteran of several failed relationships, including a marriage. She finally meets someone online and they hit it off together. Ms Botha’s character concludes:
“You are sure that there is something miraculous about the way you managed to find each other. You hope that, somehow, you’ll manage to keep each other.”
As a short story addict, I devoured this collection, and I hope Ms Botha continues to hone her craft producing more stories with that healthy touch of realism that she has come to be recognised for.
For All of the Men (and Some of the Women) I’ve Known by Danila Botha Tightrope Books
Emma Rhodes is Co-Editor in Chief of The Miramichi Reader. She is a queer writer currently living and working in Tkaronto/Toronto. She is the author of the chapbook Razor Burn (Anstruther Press), and the joint chapbook with the Egg Poets Collective All Things to Keep You Here (Qwerty Homerow Chapbook Series). You can find her at emmarhodes.net
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.