I loved these stories! The late Rick Hillis is by no means a widely known and read author, but he should be. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Hillis taught at several US colleges and universities before his untimely death at just 58 in 2014. I was made aware of his work by reading an article written by his widow, Emily Doak, in which she described her part in the posthumous publication of Hillis's only novel, A PLACE YOU'LL NEVER BE (Coteau Books, 2017). I read and very much enjoyed that novel, and so, naturally, wanted to read his only other book, this one: LIMBO RIVER (U of Pittsburgh Press, 1990).

I've already told you I loved these stories. In them, Hillis succinctly shows the quiet desperation that Thoreau spoke of, in the workaday, hum-drum, frustrated and often unhappy lives of his characters. There is Art Sweet, a minimalist, aging, one-handed jazz guitarist, who almost finds his soulmate in Ava, only to have her stolen away by a fast-talking sales rep ("Eagle Flies on Friday; Greyhound Runs at Dawn"). Harvey McKinnon is a failed teacher, made crazy by what he has seen in the eye of a butchered pig ("The Eye"). And "Summer Tragedy Report" gives us thirteen year-old Alex, left to spend the summer with his cloddish "stubble-jumper" relatives on a remote farm, where a fifteen year-old delinquent cousin torments and abuses him mercilessly. And in the title story we meet Sean, a boy dragged from town to town by his alcoholic mother, who remembers a series of "uncles," but never knew his father. All of these stories contain both hints of tragedy and a sly, sometimes ribald sense of humor.

There are nine stores here. They are all good. But there are two linked stories that stand out - "Blue" and "Big Machine." The characters here - Ed Lubnickie, a welder on a gas pipeline company, and his teenage son, Chris. And Murdoch, a clueless "motorhead," who "wants" - fast cars, stereos, pretty girls - but mostly he wants to be like Ed. And Norma, who works with Lubnickie and Murdoch, has a useless husband, an angry daughter and a dyslexic son. There are also great secondary characters - Chris's high school coach; a first-year teacher, Guttenberg; Norma's punk daughter, Tracy and her wild waitress friend - and others. In these two stories Hillis has given us a cast of characters that are as real as you will find anywhere in literature. I wanted more, wanted to know the rest of their stories. There was a whole novel here, just waiting to be written. But, sadly, these stories will have to suffice. Hillis was a major talent, too soon snuffed out. These are simply terrific stories. My highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )