Polyglot: Stories of the West's Wet Edge

By Wendy Marcus

The Lovingly crafted stories in "Polyglot" chronicle lives between Vancouver, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia -- the wet edge of North America. The stories, linked by the advice of a gay... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0615268048
• ISBN13: 9780615268040
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Book Pub Network
• Length: 174 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 0.5" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

A Rich and Fragrant Stew

Polyglot is a feast of knowing and touching. As a novelist, I know that the hardest moment is the two to four pages when the reader is new to the story, doesn't know the characters, isn't yet in the world of the story. By choosing the medium of the short story, Wendy Marcus confronts this moment over and over again. Magically, she has us by the end of the first paragraph every time. Sometimes she even has us half-way through the first line: "Every dance has a Mr. Smooth, an elderly gentleman who effortlessly steers novices around the floor with nary a skid mark." (A Dangerous Dance.) Or, "Red roses sure can gum up a girl's straight thinking." (Buried Alive in Belgrade.) Handled properly, there is a wonderful arc to the short story, an intensity of mood. But there is a tendency towards sameness in hands less expert than these. In Ms. Marcus's hands, the intensity emerges of itself, effortlessly, yet each story is as distinct and memorable as a selection of fine chocolates. As we read, we forget we are reading. We are simply in the place to which she takes us, sad, impetuous, puzzled, in love, in lust, old, bereft, young again. Ms. Marcus's work is "Jewish" in the sense that Nathan Englander's or Philip Roth's work is "Jewish" - deeply plumbing our common humanity from a particularly rich and ancient vantage point. Everyone is welcome here. Everyone will find something of themselves. This is in part because the work is worldly. Ms. Marcus knows things. She knows about the making of music. She knows fabric, and Arabic. She knows gardening, French and dancing. Small towns, Yiddish, and the newspaper business. Children, of course, with their brittle goodness. Even a little Swedish. All seasoned and stirred in the polyglot pot. Taste for yourself. It is fragrant and delicious.

A very human assortment of stories

Anywhere in North America, you're going to find quite the cast of characters. "Polygot: Stories of the West's Wet Edge" focuses on two cities named Vancouver, one in Washington and the more well-known one in British Columbia. A collection of short stories loosely related, "Polyglot" draws quite the picture of a wide reaching community with entertaining prose that is sure to entertain. A very human assortment of stories, "Polygot" is a top pick for those seeking literary short fiction.