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In 1985, Sharon Butala’s first collection of short stories, Queen of the Headaches, was nominated for a Governor General’s Award. Her second, Fever, won the 1992 Authors Award for Paperback Fiction and was nominated for a Commonwealth Award. The publication of Real Life, her newest collection, once again shows she is a master of the genre. Real Life contains ten perfectly formed stories, singular moments of emotional intensity about the inner lives we all share. In “Light,” a woman whose sister is dying an agonizing death from cancer finds a compelling attraction to the stories of Holocaust survivors. In “Real Life,” Raine, a middle-aged divorced woman, runs into her former husband―and the still-sharp pain of an affair that changed the course of their lives. “Keeping House” tells of a daughter’s impending divorce, forcing her mother to re-examine her own abusive first marriage. Each story presents the moments of “real life” that all of us experience, stripping away defenses to reveal truths of pain, joy, anger, fear, or hope.
This collection of ten short stories examines the quiet, transformative moments of emotional crisis that define the human experience. Each narrative centers on characters navigating pivotal shifts in their personal histories, such as divorce, terminal illness, or the surfacing of long-buried trauma. The protagonists must confront the dissonance between their current realities and the memories that continue to shape their perceptions. Butala employs a grounded, observational framework to expose the vulnerabilities hidden beneath the surface of everyday existence.
This collection is characterized by a focus on the interiority of its characters and the subtle, often devastating nature of personal change. The stories suggest a preoccupation with how past events, particularly those involving loss or betrayal, dictate the trajectory of future relationships. Readers likely encounter a prose style that prioritizes emotional precision over dramatic artifice, creating a sense of intimacy within each narrative. The work functions as a study of the quiet, often invisible struggles that define the lives of ordinary individuals.
Page Count:
192
Publication Date:
2002-01-01
Publisher:
Phyllis Bruce Books Perennial
ISBN-10:
0006392342
ISBN-13:
9780006392347
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