Closing Ceremonies is a collection of linked love stories that explores the aftermath of love. Who among us has not suffered the after-shocks? The sorrowing souls that inhabit these tales struggle at various stages of the grief cycle: from denial and paralysis to anger and desire for revenge; to bargaining and, ultimately, for some characters and for others incompletely, acceptance and reconciliation. Some of the stories handle the love quandary comedically—for example, the triptych of stories about Francesca and Concetta, who embrace a sisterly friendship born of betrayal. Others are more elegiac, such as the story of Thor and Lovise: unsanctioned lovers who get to orbit about each other, however briefly. “Appropriation” is a coming-of-age story where the longed-for first kiss is obtained, but not in the way the kiss was desired. What links these stories? Human yearning to move out of love away from an obsessive attachment, to a selfless state where genuine love becomes possible again.
Do you have a favourite story, Darlene?
I love all my children. In the collection CLOSING CEREMONIES, I have a special tenderness for “What To Do In Case of Hurricane.” The instruction manual I pilfered from the Paradise Resort in Jamaica provided the framework for this story of two improbable lovers who share a CAS upbringing in Halifax. The story was born of their mystery. “Appropriation” is another favourite — a coming-of-age story. There are three groupings of persons at Sunshine Point in Muskoka: the white locals, the ‘Eye-talians’, and the Reserve Indians. The 15-year-old narrator has attracted the sexual attentions of Dale Dick (local white). The fact she is Italian has embarrassed, but not deterred him. It is a story about racial and intra-racial class differences, about getting what you want but not the way you want it. There are necessary and even dangerous consequences that can occur when you are rebellious. And I love the way this story ends. It was a surprise, even for me!
