Death of the Moon
by Brian Panhuyzen
Cormorant
Books, 1999.
Reviewed by Michael Bryson
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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