Nasty, brutish and short was Hobbes' view of the life of man, and it is a theme Canadian writer Daniel Nemiroff has no trouble in exploiting in these tales of the urban netherworld. The collection has an experimental feel to it. Several very short stories feel like writing exercises rather than stories; others seem to gather more and more observations and scenes but often without a real resolution. The ending of the first story, Arch Angels, seems to signal not only the unfinished lives of the characters, but Nemiroff's difficulty in achieving a dramatic resolution.

"I have to leave first thing in the morning," Gabe answers, and has no idea why.

Nemiroff's strong suit is in creating the atmosphere suggested by the title. He is not at all deterred by the sensibilities of readers who might shrink from a description of feces, or other unsavory references. Nor is he deterred from bringing into print a cast of shadowy characters you would not want in your living room. Whether that is enough to sustain this collection will depend on just how much you want to know about nasty, short and brutal lives.  

A Master of the Fecal Arts follows a period in the life of an artist dissatisfied with his creative endeavors, driven to experiment in painting with feces. This sort of subject matter had better be good or readers won't get past their distaste. A Master of the Fecal Arts doesn't quite make it, and fades to a rather uninteresting conclusion.  The Age of Improv is a frenetic story in which a fading theatersports star, watching a performance by a newcomer troupe, laments the decline of his art. Now a father in a serious relationship, he lusts after the blonde in the seat beside him. He resents the blonde's boyfriend, as much for his baldness as his lack of regard for theatre etiquette. This is a growing up story of sorts; about the disillusionment of middle age. It has its moments, but the disgruntled protagonist Gil is a bit grating. The story does allow Nemiroff to display a wry sense of humor as he describes a troupe of actors as "probably just another nest of farm boys who happen to see the lighter side of bestiality".  The Fat Gynecologist is set in a sleazy nightclub. Adult themes. The description is vivid, and the characters as ugly as any in this collection. One of the stronger stories is The Wagoneers. It's fast paced and complicated, and involves a retiring Jehovah's Witness and a not especially devout Mormon.

The very short story Just Bob is a struggling writer's ruminations about a character he's inventing, a character called Bob. The story never really takes off, and the damp ending seems appropriate. Another three pager The Laws of Nature is more successful. A strangely distanced narrator recounts the details of his walk to the park, when one of those details, a man observing his dying lawn, comes to life and walks beside him. The conversation is disconcertingly familiar, if mundane. Even a rather overdone metaphor about a quiet road bleeding into a major artery isn't enough to spoil the unsettling atmosphere of this story. Tesla's Death Mask snatches highlights from the inventor's career against a background of a shiftless group of young people watching TV, smoking dope and talking about nothing in particular. Automotive is a short dream sequence with clarity of a nightmare.    

Nemiroff certainly has an affinity for his on-the-edge characters. There is a consistency in the tone of his depictions that suggests these are no mere ciphers plundered from the pages of tabloids or from television screens. Nemiroff knows these people, and knows them well. This is a strong first collection in terms of marking out Nemiroff's interests as a fiction writer. The bunch of misfits who inhabit his stories are nothing if not colorful.  If he can develop his craft as a writer he just might elevate his acquaintances to the status of characters we want to know a lot more about.

© 2007 Tony O'Brien

Tony O'Brien is a short story writer and lecturer in mental health nursing at the University of Auckland, New Zealand: a.obrien@auckland.ac.nz

Categories: Fiction