REVIEW BY LITERARY TITAN
Right from the first story, The All Canadian Story Book hooked me. It’s a collection of deeply human, often funny, sometimes heartbreaking short stories, each one a snapshot of a person, a place, or a moment that feels achingly real. Some tales are memoir-like and nostalgic; others are quirky, surreal, or poetic. But what ties them all together is the voice—sharp, emotional, and unapologetically honest.
The opening piece, “My Hysterical Friend,” resonated with me personally. It’s the kind of story that sneaks up on you. It starts with banter and dark humor and ends in quiet devastation. The friendship between Bobby and Ben unfolds with such raw, unfiltered intimacy that you feel like you’re eavesdropping on something sacred. That final moment at the hospital, with the “flat” line on the monitor mysteriously rising upward, hit harder than I expected. It left me staring at the wall for a minute. And when Jenny dies exactly six minutes after Ben, you almost believe in fate—or magic—or at least in the kind of love that bends time.
The writing isn’t polished in a flowery way, but that’s part of what makes it sing. It’s got this unpretentious rhythm. You can feel the characters breathing, scratching their heads, and breaking down quietly in the dark. “Mentors” is another standout. It’s gritty and painful and packed with rough edges and sharp truths. Jay Smith’s story, especially his time with Franklin, a lonely old man with a goitre and a heart full of ghosts, was strangely touching. There’s humor too, like in “Chicken of the Sea.”
“The Permanent Robin” is one of those quiet little stories that sneaks in near the end of the book and catches you off guard. It’s tender, short, and full of that bittersweet kind of magic that lingers. The robin—stubborn, loyal, maybe a bit symbolic—refuses to migrate, sticking around through the cold. And in that small, simple image, the author somehow captures themes of grief, memory, and holding on when everything else has moved on.
This book is for folks who’ve lived a little—or a lot. If you’ve ever watched someone you love fall apart, or disappear, or come back different… this book might feel familiar. It’s perfect for readers who like their stories with some bite, a lot of soul, and just enough weird to keep things interesting. It’s messy. It’s tender. It’s beautifully Canadian in that understated, heartbreaking kind of way. Read it. Let it wreck you a little. Let it warm you back up.
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My name is Peter, I used to be 71 years old, and I live on the West Coast, also known as the Wet Coast, or the Left Coast, of Canada.
It's nice here, you'd like it.
My gorgeous wife and our wonderful Havanese dog also live here with me. Im extremely happy about that arrangement.
Since a young boy I always wanted to be one of only two things: I really wanted to become either an Open Pit Miner or a Writer.
I chose the easy one, of course, the Open Pit Mining.
Well, the mining career never panned out so I dropped my worn down pointy shovel and picked up a brand spanking new pointy pen and got going on the Writing.
It didn't take long to remember why I avoided Writing in the first place... Writing was enormously difficult to do. I almost returned to Open Pit Mining but fortunately I had already been replaced, by another Writer as it turns out.
That's life...