Bonneville Stories

Mark Doyon

Average Rating 8/10 (1 Review)

Some blame God, others blame kismet, and still others rail against random happenstance.

In Bonneville, good people lose limbs, fight lightning, and slip into sinkholes. They pitch over bicycles, tumble off ladders, and expire without warning. They spin the wheel and take their chances. It's all in a day's work.

'Mark Doyon's compulsively readable fiction presents a fascinating and frightening version of a world where (mis)fortune rules.'

Scott Donaldson

Review by Chrissi (011202) Rating (8/10)

Review by Chrissi
Rating 8/10
They say that there is "nowt so queer as folk", and Mark Doyon seems to have realised that good fiction does not have to be action packed, or even to have a obvious plot, but just needs to strike an image on the consciousness of the reader.

This is a collection of short stories where nothing really happens, but doesn't happen in a way that has possibilities… if you see what I mean :).

The characters reminded me of some of the short stories from Tales of the Unexpected I read as a child, which were all the more disturbing because of what you did not see, rather than the gratuitous and ultimately disappointing finale.

Bonneville is a poor town that tried a get rich quick scheme in the form of illegal fireworks. The scandal resulted in disgrace for some of the townspeople, but not before a child had his hand blown off in a freak accident. A few years later, the disgraced Mayor returns with a vision of an illegal speakeasy, an unlicensed bar beneath a barn. We see the bar and the drinkers and the development of the unfortunate handless child. None of it is sunshine, in fact, it is all rather dark, and neither is it particularly comedic, but there is a rich vein of irony running through the stories.

I took this away to Germany with me, and I read the first few on the plane, as I reasoned that it would be better not to concentrate on short stories than to miss a vital bit of information in a novel. I was wrong, if you do not concentrate on these stories, you will miss the point all together, and that would be a shame. Very good in an unusual sort of way that grips you without you knowing.
Chrissi (1st December 2002)