I have rather mixed feelings about this short story collection by Steven Heighton.
"Those who would be more", was the story of an English teacher in Japan. Through his meetings with the principal and his classes, we get to see a reflection of the life and times: not just with such words in the list of translations as corpse, rifle, shooting and bombing, but also in the reasoning behind his dismissal - based on the fact that making children work through Saturday and not following it up with homework, was just too lenient.
I liked "Fireman's Carry", the story of an incident involving saving snakes from a burning building. Within the span of one short evening, we get an intense look into the thoughts and ways of a cross section of people, both local and foreign, victim and saviour.
"Shared Room on Union" was a unique story, in that it was a very unique treatment of quite a mundane event. Couple Janna and Justin get mugged while parked in front of Union station in downtown Toronto. While tied and thrown into the trunk of their own car, they hear and even interact with passers-by. The incident in itself - plus the way they deal with it later in life - was quite interesting.
I also liked "Swallow", the story about paid volunteers in a drug-testing program. It was a dark, dirty and scary world which was at all times deeply tragic.
Barring the above, I can't say I liked this collection too much. Most of the other stories are now a blur in my mind. I also find it difficult to enjoy stories that are too much "a slice of real life". I read to get away from the drearier side of real life (which is why, perhaps, I like sci-fi and fantasy above all). For real life to appeal to me through the pages of a book, the storyteller has to be of a calibre no less than the likes of Dickens or Tagore.
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