| Vol. I No. I |
September
1999
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The
Danforth Review
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Death of the Moon Quick. Name a Dutch-Canadian writer. Can't? Pick up Brian Panhuyzen's self-designed debut and hear some new rhythms, stories told with a booming confidence and a huckster's wit. These are stories that owe more to Saturday morning cartoons than Chekovian moments or Carveresque characters, though they aren't without subtlety, symbolism, meaningful incidents or any of the other high points on the writer's school checklist. Panhuyzen offers a balanced diet of plot-driven and experimental narratives, throws in some science fiction and a unique indexing system. There is no place in Panhuyzen's debut for self-conscious wallowing in over-sensitive emotions. Here instead are new strategies for Canadian storytelling – strategies remarkably Pynchonian – that is, multiple genre integration. Imagine Atwood with a healthy dose of Star Trek. Isn't it about time?
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THE DANFORTH REVIEW IS EDITED BY MICHAEL BRYSON.