Beam of Light is the perfect title for this collection of very short stories. While it is also the title of the first story in this book, it is an appropriate label for all the tales. Appropriate because John Kinsella illuminates fascinating aspects of the lives of people who, in one way or another, have not fulfilled their potential or who long for the unobtainable or the unlikely, or who find themselves in unwanted situations.
Some of these people have fared better than others, some are more self-aware, some have accommodated their fate, some not so well, but all are intensely human, all are so real. You will recognise them.
All the stories evince a depth of characterisation one may think unachievable in stories of such short length; it is a tribute to Kinsella’s ability to say a lot in very few words.
One of my favourites is called ‘Burying the Rabbits’. In this story, a child asks, ‘Why do we have a virus we have to hide from and get a needle to stop killing us … but people give a virus to rabbits to make them die in their homes?’ The answer, namely that rabbits don’t belong here, is countered by the comment that neither do we belong here. All this is encapsulated in a short monologue by an old-timer unwilling to sell his property to a real estate developer.
Among other gems is ‘Invitations’, which focuses on unwanted invitations, and ‘Quod erat demonstrandum: Christmas Day Swim’, which is all about fitting in. ‘Vaccination Medley’ also stands out. It is, in a gentle way, about the misuse of police power – in this instance, by a sergeant who ‘was small and rough and sharp-tongued and tended towards political parties that offered easy answers to complex problems and had mixed feelings about gun ownership, but she liked animals’.
Other subjects featured include bullying, possessiveness, intergenerational relationships and even one story where something good undeservedly emerges from something bad.
Just how much should be said to the prospective reader about how a story ends is debatable. Saying a lot may spoil what is intended as a surprise, whereas saying too little potentially diminishes the value of a review to the reader. In the case of Beam of Light, some of the endings have the delightful effect of turning a story on its head or delivering an unexpected, though still logical, surprise. Others leave us where we came in, so to speak. Most leave the reader longing for more. All are satisfying.
Read: Book review: Mural, Stephen Downes
Kinsella is well-known as an advocate for non-human animals. It has been said of him that he is a poet who demonstrates in his work an interrelated array of understandings about the ways we should live in this world. That, coupled with his ability to observe and his poetic mastery of storytelling, is evident throughout this collection.
Beam of Light, John Kinsella
Publisher: Transit Lounge
ISBN: 9781923023161
Format: paperback
Pages: 262pp
Release date: 1 September 2024
RRP: $32
