Gambler's Fallacy'The conundrum at the core of Gambler's Fallacy, author and translator Judith Cowan's seven-story follow-up to her distinguished 1997 debut, More Than Life Itself, involves an impressively erratic cast of fearful and fragile Québécois characters, capriciously transformed into victims of the strange vagaries of chance and serendipitous circumstance. Not unlike Raymond Carver or Alice Munro, Cowan creates heartbreakingly felicitous portraits of Chekhovian elegance, featuring the ordinarily forgotten little folks who, for no apparent reason or logical explanation, have fallen through the cracks. ... Suffused with a largeness of spirit everywhere animated by moments of aching clarity and lyrical grace, Cowan's gritty minimalist vignettes will, if truth be told, simply break the most hardened of readers' hearts. You can bet the farm on it.' |
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Alphonse Alphonse Piché Andrea anyway Atermoiements Beelzebub beer breath cash box Cégep Céline cello centre cheroot coat cold corner crowd dark Denis devils door ears English eyes face father feeling feet felt French Gambler's Fallacy Gilles girl glass going gone grey hair hand head heard horse inside Jacqueline's Jean-Charles Judith Cowan kissed kitchen knew Lac Saint-Pierre Laiah lane laughed lawn legs light looked Madame Paradis manège Manon Marc-André Maurice Duplessis Megan Montréal mother moved never night Octave Crémazie past Pierre porch Québec Québec City Radio-Canada Raymonde remembered river Russell Russell's Sainte-Angèle-de-Laval Saskia seemed seen Shawna Simon smell smiled smoke someone somewhere St Lawrence River stallion stared steps stood street supposed sure talking thing thought told trees tried Trois-Rivières trying turned Vapeur voice walked wanted watched window wine woman Zénob