Daddy Lenin is a collection of very manly stories, in the best sense of that word. Mostly populated by mid- to late-middle-aged men, these nine short stories examine – through interior monologues, dredged up memories, and pressure-filled present-day situations – what it is to be a (white, middle-classed Canadian) man alive today, and it ain't no bed of roses.
The two stories that bookend the collection highlight the progression of the modern man: In the first, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, a teenage boy in the 60s falls in with a couple of tough kids, and when a prank they pull goes off the rails, he is left alone with a crazy old man; like confronting some addled Dickensian ghost of the future. In the final story, Daddy Lenin, a recently retired school teacher runs into his academic mentor, and although the erstwhile professor is now ragged and seedy, his arrogance ensures that our protagonist will never get over past wrongs; forever in the grip of the ghosts of the past. In between, we meet boys who start relationships with girls from the wrong sort of families, men who are being forced to retire, or are recently widowed and at loose ends, or are forced to confront their failures as providers; each at war with the ghosts of their present. Without being anti-feminist or “failing to check their privilege”, all of these stories demonstrate the existential angst of the modern man, each a perfect encapsulation of the effects of changing gender roles and expectations. What women there are in these stories tend to be emasculating (a penetrating therapist, a higher earning spouse, a sexual adventurer) but I wasn't put off by their portrayals; these are stories about men, and each of them needed someone to act as his foil.
If I did have a complaint about these stories, it's that they eventually seemed formulaic in structure: a situation is presented, background information is slowly revealed, and then a few final paragraphs charge off the page. This was nagging at me until I read this interview with Guy Vanderhaeghe:
I’ve always had the feeling that a short story is not simply a short novel. I have always felt that the short story shared more with poetry. I think you often hope that within a short story the puzzle with the narrative snaps into focus with the last paragraph. It should crystallize everything that has taken place in the story.This crystallization happens in every story and the effect I felt of it being formulaic is likely just because I devoured this collection too quickly; should I really complain that something that worked so well once was then used again, to repeated success? Here's the ending to 1957 Chevy Bel Air, in which a successful businessman's only regret is the apparent unhappiness of his youngest son:
What he would like to do is hand the keys to the 1957 Chevy Bel Air to Brendan in the hope the boy would drive away as fast as he can. On nights when the hard little stars beat against the windshield like brilliant hail and the prairie wind moans its insinuations, he can imagine Brendan speeding down some road, the CD blaring the strange music that thumps night after night from his bedroom, the wind ruffling his blond hair, each mile bringing him closer to where he needs to be.And there it is: the bill for luck and happiness always comes due, early promise often results in wasted lives, and even at the end of a modestly successful career, a man can be left asking, “What was the point of all that?” This is a very intriguing and well written collection from an author I have long admired and I highly recommend it.
In his mind's eye, Randy Bright hungrily watches his son until a final twist in the highway pavement whips Brendan out of sight, the Chevy Bel Air carrying him on to a waiting refuge, safety, a haven of happiness. He knows it is not going to happen, but he wishes it would, wishes that Brendan could be as lucky as he has been. Thirty-five years of contentment is something, even if now the bill for it seems to have come due.
Governor General's Literary Awards English Fiction Finalists:
Kate Cayley - How You Were Born
Rachel Cusk - Outline
Helen Humphreys - The Evening Chorus
Clifford Jackman - The Winter Family
Guy Vanderhaghe - Daddy Lenin and Other Stories
October 28: Sweet justice; Vanderhaghe and Daddy Lenin did win. Congrats!
