Rosalind Gill

The stories in Face into the Wind, Rosalind Gill’s latest collection of short fiction, are almost all set in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Much of the drama we witness involves the primarily female cast of characters making unwelcome discoveries about the world they live in and the people they share it with, revelations that leave them no longer sure about their lives and wondering if what they have is really what they want. Gill also explores the clashing worlds of adults and children. In “Hoist Your Sails and Run,” 7-year-old Jenny hides in her friend Jimmy Kelly’s back yard. As she’s getting ready to creep out from under the back steps, she stops when she sees Mrs. Kelly and her own father emerge from the back door, their behaviour suggesting an unexpected and confusing degree of familiarity. In other stories we encounter young women navigating a world hostile to their needs and aspirations. In “Goodness,” nurse Florence, a cash-strapped single mother, agonizes over what to do when she is reprimanded by the surly head-nurse for becoming friendly with a dying patient, and also finds herself the object of unwanted attentions from the overly familiar Dr. Hallett. In “Honour Silence,” young teacher Vera chafes against the strict disciplinary system at Graham’s College for Girls, which she regards as outdated and unjust. When a smart, creative student who happens to have a rebellious streak is expelled simply because the school doesn’t want to deal with her, Vera understands that her own future is no longer certain. Many of the stories are set in the post-Confederation period of the 1950s and 1960s, a time when women were beginning to question a social structure that had for too long branded them second-class citizens, and in every case the historical setting is convincingly evoked. There’s nothing flashy in these pages. Gill writes plain-spoken prose that avoids elaborate description, getting straight to the point and drawing the reader immediately into the unfolding drama. These tales of quotidian struggle are honest, gritty, and populated with sympathetic characters facing challenges that will be instantly recognizable. The direct manner of the telling might imply naivety, but don’t be fooled because Gill’s fictions are complex and possess depth and nuance. These stories—written with skill and restraint—linger in the mind long after we have set the book down.… (más)

A review of media and feminism. Starts out a bit slow, but stick with it; the overall book is worth the weight. It is a bit out of date now, since much of the online misogyny that has become standard in the past few years had not yet moved out of the fringe, and didn't really capture her attention. I would love to see it updated in the new age of 24-hour misogyny, but this book does help to put some of that into clearer view. By detailing the things that were going on for the past four decades, it becomes easier to understand how these young men have grown up with such a warped idea of women. Recommended for anyone who thinks we have reached the golden age of women, and especially recommended for women who excuse everything that is presented to us as "woman's choice" and "empowering". The author manages to demolish that idea quite nicely. The main problem I see with the book is that there is not enough look (there is some) at how the presentation of masculinity affects the issue. It is touched on, but more superficially, mostly how it impacts how men see women, and not really as much how men see themselves as a result of media. That last is really an important part.… (más)