This Magazine

Progressive politics, ideas & culture

Menu

fiction

January-February 2018

The Space Between

Short fiction by Amy Jones

Amy Jones

On the way to my first day at my new job in Edmonton, it finally happened: I found my soulmate. Thick brown hair, oystershell ears, baby blues that laserbeamed out from under a fringe of butterfly lashes. Shoulders wide as the Milky Way. Hands that could palm the moon. I was in love but he […] More »
November-December 2017

REVIEW: New dystopian novel finds influence in today’s biggest conflicts

Inside Tarry This Night by Kristyn Dunnion

Ophelie Zalcmanis-Lai

Tarry This Night By Kristyn Dunnion Arsenal Pulp Press, $16.95 Tarry This Night by Kristyn Dunnion is a dystopian tale that takes readers through the days of a bunkered polygamist cult leader, Father Ernst, and his “family.” Told from the perspectives of various family members, Dunnion’s novel reflects a dark coming-of-age story about protagonist Ruth, who must […] More »
November-December 2017

Bad Actress

New fiction by Jasmine Szabo-Knox

Jasmine Szabo-Knox

I met Ana at a girls’ school where I taught French to her fifth graders, and lived in residence until June, in a room overlooking an all but abandoned airport. Ana and I spoke little during the first six months—the winter months—only becoming friends when the weather changed, skin already bruised, bearing a sudden heat […] More »
September-October 2017

The Two-Handed Cloud

New fiction by Rudrapriya Rathore

Rudrapriya Rathore@rrudrapriya

Dizzy lay in bed on Monday, grocery day, feeling like she’d reached the end. She said a silent goodbye to the creamy swirl of crown molding on her ceiling. It was one of the reasons she chose this apartment. The daily golden light in the bedroom was another. She had not been very pretty in […] More »
July-August 2017

We See Things with our Eyes and We Want Them

Short fiction by Ann Ward

Ann Ward

There was a knock on the door. Mum didn’t answer it. Maybe she didn’t hear it. I heard it. But I’m not allowed to do more than look through the screen. I was only left alone twice or three times. One of those times someone knocked on the door and it was a big man. […] More »
July-August 2017

Desperada

Excerpt of short fiction by Sofia Mostaghimi

Sofia Mostaghimi@sofiamosta

After Shanghai, I caught a cheap flight to Bangkok. In the sky, I met a group of Australians who joked about North Korea and Kim Jong-il the whole time and who said “g’day mate” for my pleasure. We parted ways at the airport then I travelled to Ko Phangan, where I think I was roofied at […] More »
July-August 2017

My Landlord is a Spider

Fiction by Jordan Moffatt

Jordan Moffatt@jordanmoffatt

A life-hack I read on the internet told me to avoid landlords who are late for the first meeting. If I had followed the life-hack, I wouldn’t be living where I live now, which is in the sewer. So that’s another lesson I had to learn the hard way. I was waiting for a potential […] More »
May-June 2017

Two Sex Addicts Fall in Love

New fiction by Jess Taylor

Jess Taylor

A sex addict meets another sex addict and falls in love. Sex Addict 1 needs sex all the time, but it can be with the same person as long as 1. It’s interesting 2. The person smells good 3. They both come at least once almost every time 4. It is done in many new ways […] More »
March-April 2017

REVIEW: A look at everyday life across Canada in this new short story collection

Barrelling Forward is Newfoundland writer Eva Crocker's debut

Sharon Kashani

Barrelling Forward By Eva Crocker House of Anansi, $19.95 Barrelling Forward, a debut short story collection by emerging Newfoundland writer Eva Crocker, presents compelling tales of the so-called “ordinary” within Canada. Through 14 pieces, readers are acquainted with intensely realistic descriptions of both personhood and setting. The chafing, itching skin of a man is delineated […] More »
March-April 2017

Bad Detectives

Short story by Liz Harmer

Liz Harmer@lizharmer

One way to examine a marriage is to look at the pattern of jokes. Fourteen years ago, when Heidi started her daily running practice, when Marley was two, terribly two, Heidi used to joke that she ran because she could pretend she’d keep running and never come back. Sometimes she ran for an hour, for […] More »
March-April 2017

REVIEW: New novel explores survivors’ realities in the Second World War

The Water Beetles was inspired by author Michael Kaan's own family history

Pema Tsering@PemaTsering1

The Water Beetles By Michael Kaan Goose Lane Editions, $22.95 At times graphic and disturbing, The Water Beetles by Michael Kaan tells the heroic and poetic story of a young boy living in Hong Kong during the Second World War. Based loosely on the diaries and stories of Kaan’s father, the narrative follows 12-year-old Chung-Man […] More »