Rudy Wiebeœs reputation is based on his novels and non-fiction, which have focused on Aboriginal themes and his Mennonite heritage. Though he is not widely known as a short story writer, a half-Úcenturyœs worth of his efforts in this genre have now been collected in a single volume.Divided into four sections, the 51 entries in Collected Stories showcase Wiebeœs diverse concerns. The first section, which is the most lively, includes tales of warriors, Chiefs, and the First Nationsœ experiences prior to the imposition of restrictions on their land and freedom by the Crown. The other sections include stories on Mennonite history, Western Canada, and more personal character sketches. In one story, a writer discusses poetry with a potential mistress. In another, set in 1980, the voice of long-dead Alberta Premier William Aberhart castigates contemporary citizens of Rose Country for wasting their wealth. Thereœs even a fictional interview with Wiebe in which the Saskatchewan-born writer claims to be English.Aesthetic critics (notably John Metcalf) have long claimed that Wiebeœs fiction betrays a wooden ear and strained earnestness, and these stories show that this claim has a certain validity. Wiebeœs parents spoke Low German, which has no word for fiction·; the only categories for stories were truth· and lies.· One cannot help but notice how much of his fiction is based in fact, and wonder if the Mennonite binary view of literature hasnœt remained foundational. Elsewhere, Goetheœs German Romanticism is clearly a dominant influence, one that aligns with an interest in pre-contact Aboriginal cultures and a clearly evident sensitivity to the marginal, the weak, and the natural world.
Content Note
Broken arm -- Where is the voice coming from? -- Watch for two coyotes, crossing -- Along the Red Deer and the South Saskatchewan -- The year we gave away the land -- From Montreal, 1848 -- Games for Queen Victoria -- A night in Fort Pitt, or (if you prefer) the only perfect Communists in the world -- The fish caught in the Battle River -- Oolulik -- Dialgue at an exibition -- The naming of Albert Johnson -- After thirty years of marriage -- Sailing to Danzig -- All on their knees -- The power -- Tudor king -- Scrapbook -- The house smashers -- Lake Isle of Innisfree -- They just won't believe -- Growing up in Rosebud -- The darkness inside the mountain -- Speaking Saskatchewan -- Chinook Christmas -- The angel of the tar sands -- Seeeing is believing -- Millstone for the sun's day -- Did Jesus ever laugh? -- Believing is not seeing -- Life story -- Crash -- Urn burial -- A history of the new world -- Bluecoats on the sacred hill of the wild peas -- In the ear of the beholder -- The Blindman River contradictions -- Shadow of a rock -- The shells of the ocean -- An indication of burning -- The good maker -- There's a muddy road -- Sleeping (uneasily) with Frankz Kafka -- Home for night -- Except God, who already knows -- Bears, all the time bears -- Someday soon, before tomorrow -- The funny money of 1980 -- The oil capitals of Canada -- Finally, the frozen ocean.