Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Splinter & Shard: Stories by Lulu Keating is a collection that delves into the intricacies of human experience with a deft touch that is both poignant and profound. Keating’s work is a mosaic of flash fiction, character studies, and autofiction that collectively turn over the rocks of everyday life to expose the psychological truths that lie beneath.

The stories traverse the vast landscapes of Canada, from Nova Scotia to the Yukon, yet their themes are universally resonant, grappling with loss, infidelity, faith, mortality, and love. Keating’s prose is unadorned yet richly layered, a style that demands the reader’s full attention and rewards it with moments of stark revelation and quiet introspection.

In “Splinter & Shard,” Keating explores the dichotomy between the control we exert over our lives and the unpredictable whims of fate. Her characters are vividly drawn, often caught in the narrow margins of society, religion, history, or gender roles, and they navigate these confines with a sense of determination and, at times, resignation.

The collection’s standout stories, such as “The Makeup Man” and “Promissory Note,” showcase Keating’s ability to craft narratives that are both intimate and expansive. Her endings are striking in their simplicity, eschewing fanfare for a more natural conclusion that stays true to the story’s rhythm and the characters’ journeys.

Keating’s storytelling is a testament to her background as an award-winning filmmaker, with a cinematic quality that pulls the reader into the frame and then gradually widens the lens to reveal a larger context. This technique, coupled with her gift for creating characters that readers feel an allegiance to, makes “Splinter & Shard” a compelling read.

In summary, Lulu Keating’s “Splinter & Shard: Stories” is a finely tuned collection that speaks to the heart of what it means to be human. It is a book that invites reflection and, above all, a deep appreciation for the art of storytelling.

For a short stories collection that was meant to depict humanity, the characters felt very NOT human, in the sense that they felt like characters and not actual people. The themes explored were interesting, I'll give it that but in the end I didn't care much. 2 stars

I loved these often-entwined, often-overlapping stories about the ways people adapt, embrace new opportunities or decide not to face them, grapple with a changing world, and figure out who they are. Spanning a century and a lot of Canada, Keating's stories are about the hypocrisy and cruelty of the Catholic church, desperate love, becoming independent, parenting, being the adult child of difficult parents, seeking a place to call home, and the effect of place on the psyche. The characters are memorable and true, each worth a novel of their own. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and ECW Press For the ARC!

Short stories are such a difficult thing to evaluate—the space constraints limit artistic priorities, which makes enjoyment highly subjective. With that noted, please don’t let my critiques deter you from reading if the description of the book appeals to you.

Lulu Keating’s "Splinter & Shard" didn’t connect with me at all.

The characters feel very writerly in the sense that they could only exist in this medium. Nobody really sounds like a real person. Ideally, I think a short story should feel like you’re meeting a character for a brief moment, but I don’t believe any characters here exist beyond the few pages they fill. As a result, all the stories blend together because there aren’t distinctive motivations. It’s partially due to the galley’s formatting, I think, but there were several times where I struggled to understand when one story ended and another began.

All that said, I think it’s important to read as generously as possible, so I looked up Lulu Keating’s film work, and I think some of it is really great! She has a distinctive sensibility that I can see at play within this collection, even if it doesn’t translate terribly well for my taste. A lot of her work is in animation, and there’s such a care in the way she depicts movement. If the characters in these short stories are viewed primarily as props (I don’t mean that negatively), I think maybe the reading experience would sit better. For me, the characters might “go through the motions,” but for another reader, they may move as intentionally as they do in the author’s films.

As a final positive note, these are very geographically situated stories, and I appreciated the northern edge that they have. I’m always game for more sled dogs, and for some readers, this might be a perfect collection.