There has been a lot of fiction written about Vancouver, including novels and short stories, but it is rare to have a collection of tales about one specific 604 neighbourhood. Don McLellan’s, In the Quiet After Slaughter (2008) flows from a single borough. The journalist-turned-proser focuses on his old stomping ground of Renfrew Heights – the city’s first detached-home, war vets housing project.
The stories capture the toughness and cohesiveness of life in a subdivision hastily built for combat-fatigued soldiers, weary war brides and an army of kids forging their way through East Van. The characters range from drug mules to the anonymous old lady across the street. Their lives sometimes stray from the hillside hamlet, but their thoughts keep returning to The Project. McLellan’s fiction debut is a sensitive depiction of the hyperlocal and worth reading.
www.donmclellan.com