One Last Good Look

by Michael Winter

One Last Good Look follows the youthful and observant Gabriel English as he grows up in Newfoundland, leaves home and establishes himself in the world. These are stories of first rites: hunting accidents, sibling rivalry, infatuation, death in the family, romantic breakups, sustaining friendships, and the yearning for love, laughs, and understanding. The storyline is one of the oldest in literature--that of a young man making sense of the world and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 088784667X
• ISBN13: 9780887846670
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: House of Anansi Press
• Length: 226 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Modern North American Classic

I Can't allow one of the best Canadian writers of recent memory to be left with a single poorly-reasoned, one-starred review. Any lover of short story will love Michael Winter's original voice. A collection about a young man's trials and revelations, the subjects are fascinating in their attention to detail and fresh, powerful images. Winter, like his cohort Lisa Moore (another fantastic Candian author), is essentially a minimalist, melding dialogue into the paragraph (few, if any, quotation marks). I personally find this is very fluent to read, though some may find themselves re-reading to catch it at first. It is a fictional memoir - - - though it is a little more intriguing to wonder which of these events may have happened. Stories involving the main character's brother are among the best in this collection, if only because the amazing contrast between them leads to heart-stopping drama. Anyone who's spent time in rural Newfoundland or New England will recognize gestures, the rhythm of life, and the particular cadence of voice in the people in these stories. If you've read *The Shipping News,* and were looking for something hailing from the place itself, this would work. Winter has gone on to write a few well-received novels, but for my money, this is the place to start. p.s. When will readers of McSweeney's, New Yorker, etc. clue into Winter and Moore? Let's hope sooner than later!