Limbo River

Winner of the 1990 Drue Heinz Literature Prize
The stories of Limbo River, many of them set within the interiors of work and the working class, create a chorus of dreams and dreamers--lives suspended in the place between and often grimly real possibilty.

This fine debut collection of stories, winner of the 1990 Drue Heinz Prize, is set largely in central and western Canada, but is not regionalist in flavor. Having gazed into the strangely impassive eye of a pig being butchered, the schoolteacher in "The Eye" is plagued by intrusive dreams and loses the ability to make eye contact. Not all the characters in these nine stories can identify the sources of the massive psychological blocks they live with, but the struggle of blunted sensibilities against fierce or whimsical destructive forces is a common theme. Hillis maneuvers well in his chosen fictional milieu of redneck pipefitters, deer hunters and neglected children, yet readers may find it easy to separate themselves from the pain of characters--partly due to a pervading element of farce, and partly because an indulgent sense of poetic justice directs the worst of the devastation against the more obnoxious characters. Nonetheless, in rich and figurative language so controlled that it at times seems terse, the author considers human behavior with empathy and impressive depth.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This collection of nine short stories is the winner of the 1990 Drue Heinz Literature Prize for short fiction, chosen by Russell Banks from 260 manuscripts by published writers. Hillis, a native of Canada, is a fresh, promising talent whose stories move easily from humor to gritty realism. In "Summer Tragedy Report," a 13-year-old boy spends his summer vacation on a farm with earthy relatives who would be comfortable with the Beans of Egypt, Maine. In "Blue" and "Big Machine," Norma works as a construction worker on a gas pipeline in an attempt to get off welfare and support her unemployed husband and two children. Each story in this impressive debut is a beautifully cut jewel, original and very entertaining. Highly recommended.
- Dean Willms, Fort Collins P.L., Col.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.