A collection of stories mostly revolving around Kingston. Some of the references hit home and the writing style that Heighton expresses is simple yet longing. Overall, a good starter for more of Heighton's oeuvre.

3.5 ( )

The Dead Are More Visible by Steven Heighton is a collection of short stories by an author who has received three gold National Magazine Awards and has been anthologized in two editions of Best English Stories and six editions of Best Canadian Stories. Heighton has also been nominated for the Trillium Award, the Journey Prize, a Pushcart Prize, and Britain’s W.H. Smith Award.

Whew! That’s a lot of acclaim for one person, but after reading his collection of short stories, The Dead Are More Visible, I can understand why.

Each story, though different in plot, are all written in a direct and honest narrative where the essence of the story is hidden beneath the surface of point-blank facts.

Heighton will never raise a white flag and holler, “This is what the story means!”

He will, instead, place his characters in almost absurd situations, ones that pose a raw tension and an environment in which his characters’ vulnerabilities are squeezed out of them—just not with a jarring hand or reading.

It is almost as if the characters are placed in strange, tense, and almost absurd situations so that the question of their true natures found in their needs and visceral responses can be honestly tested and tried—to be revealed for our sake, the reader, if not for their own.

And yet, the absurdity of each story’s plot or setting somehow resonates into a vivid visualization and ultimate believability. The ease of Steven Heighton’s writing style ensures this.

To read the rest of this review, you can visit the blog, "The Bibliotaphe's Closet" here: http://zaraalexis.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/the-dead-are-more-visible-a-review/

Thanks,
Zara ( )

Awesome. Strong tight stories all the way through. The first half of the title story was already excellent, and then it slid sharply into an unexpectedly powerful development. In Noughts and Crosses the story cleverly unfolded across the scaffolding of an annotated email. Swallow took us into the world of damaged souls numbing their pains and plumping their wallets by participating in pharmaceutical research trials.
Masterfully done. Several of the stories were re-reads, having been previously published in The Walrus or Geist, but they were just as great the next time around. ( )

Awesome. Strong tight stories all the way through. The first half of the title story was already excellent, and then it slid sharply into an unexpectedly powerful development. In Noughts and Crosses the story cleverly unfolded across the scaffolding of an annotated email. Swallow took us into the world of damaged souls numbing their pains and plumping their wallets by participating in pharmaceutical research trials.
Masterfully done. Several of the stories were re-reads, having been previously published in The Walrus or Geist, but they were just as great the next time around. ( )

This was okay. The prose was certainly capable but I love strong voice and this book just didn't have it for me. ( )