History Lessons
Cary Fagan
The stories and novellas in History Lessons, Cary Fagan's first full-length collection of fiction, reveal the dreams and deceptions that people live by. These works have a vivid sense of place and detail as they trace the inner lives of characters. Among them: an immigrant child strives to keep her world together; an old man with a buried past finds himself involved with a troupe of avant-garde actors; a young Jewish boy comes of age through discovery and revelation.
These fictions unveil personal histories, memories, and myths — with all their emotional and moral intensities. They move beyond the surface to surprising depths.
"A very, very fine short story writer." — Timothy Findley
Awarded four stars by NOW Magazine
Quill & Quire called it "astonishing," and chose it as one of the season's best literary books.
"[Fagan] is a psychological realist in the best sense of the tradition." — The Globe and Mail
"Poignant." — Books in Canada
"Absorbing." — Victoria Times-Colonist
"Charming and quietly surprising ... insightfully gentle stories." — Canadian Literature.