The title of Astrid Blodgett’s latest collection of short stories succinctly describes what could happen to any of us throughout life: we may disappear at the surface, within ourselves, or within relationships. There is an overwhelming possibility for loss of self-identity when we merge, or try to emerge from a stronger personality’s shadow. Each story reflects a unique perspective of the disappearance; it may be through a child’s eyes as they witness the disintegration of their parent’s marriage, another child witnessing the aftermath of single parenting and how each parent moves on (or doesn’t), as a teenager moving through sibling differences, a parent reflecting on the recklessness of the past and seeing its possible resurrection through their child, or an adult trying to find the young person they once knew inside the now grown up. Many of these themes bear seeds of recognition. Maybe we know someone in real life who has gone through such experiences or we’ve lived through it ourselves. Each story pulls at an emotional cord, somewhat frayed and in the midst of letting go. In the end, it is us, the readers, who may not be able to let go of the characters.
Blodgett is an Edmonton-based author and beautifully incorporates sceneries in and around this vibrant prairie city as a backdrop. For example, in “Dear Hector”, the Stairmaster-steep steps and poplar-lined dirt paths of the expansive River Valley trail system accompany the tentative movements in dating interwoven with familial concern. The main character has their complexities and hang-ups; none of which can or should be resolved by the end of the story. It reflects the genius of sometimes ending these tales abruptly. In real life, sometimes there is no closure, or the work in progress needs a hiatus.
I can’t pick a favourite story out of the lot because they are all worthy of a re-read and character analysis. If I could only pick one to re-read, the most satisfying for me would be “Devil’s Lake”. I could relate to the child having improperly tied skates. My toes and ankles ached as I recalled the feeling of moving awkwardly on a frozen, black pond. Superficial similarity aside, I rooted for the young girl to get up and skate as hard and as fast as she could past her dismissive and verbally abusive father. I wanted her mother to realize that losing him was a gift, and hopefully not the cause for her to disappear into a couch.
Spend some time with “These People Have Nothing” and spot the broken mirrored reflection in a family that is cash-poor but rich with love versus a family coping with the dissolution of love and a return to individual selves. In “Everything’s Fine, Actually”, you can cringe along to a couple forcing things to happen rather than accepting what’s not meant to be. Feel the uncomfortable silences in “The Golden Rice Bowl” when you try to figure out ‘what happened to those two’ so-called best friends and the cause of the marital discord stemming from ’That Night’.
It’s not often I come across a book of short stories written by the same author where every single story resonates or is worthy of deeper thought or discussion like this one. I’d recommend This Is How You Start to Disappear for a book club or English 101 studies as a model for form, structure and riveting storytelling. Things have already fallen apart before you’ve read the first sentence of each story, and you’ll have the privilege of discovering whether anything can be put back together in some tolerable form for each character.
Astrid Blodgett is an Edmonton short story writer and editor. Her second collection of stories is This is How You Start to Disappear. An enthusiastic backpacker and canoe tripper, Astrid co-edited and co-published Recipes for Roaming: Adventure Food for the Canadian Rockies with Janet Pullan and Brenda McIntyre.
- Publisher : University of Alberta Press (Aug. 11 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 264 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1772127132
- ISBN-13 : 978-1772127133
Mala Rai is a poet, drummer, psychology student, and technical writing hired gun on the West Coast. Her most recent poems have appeared in Eclectica Magazine, High Shelf Press, and Anti-Heroin Chic. You can follow her on Instagram @malaraipoetry