Mennonites Don't Dance

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This vibrant collection of short stories, set primarily on the Canadian Prairies, explores how families, confronted by the conflict between tradition and change, are often torn apart and, in spite of differences and struggles, sometimes brought back together. The stories offer a detailed look into the experienes of children and their parents and grandparents, exploring generational ties, sins, penance, and redemption.ReviewThere's an unfussy purity of expression here, and of narrative control, that sometimes recalls the short fiction of Alistair MacLeod.Globe&Mail--theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/mennonites-dont-dance-by-darcie-friesen-hossack/article1912787/Hossack's writing may remind readers of...Mennonite authors Patrick Friesen and Miriam Toews.~Winnipeg Free Press--winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/stories-of-mennonite-life-shine-a-light-on-a-sad-reality-113752274.htmlThe stories are well written, with vivid imagery, by someone who knows well the rural prairies and the Mennonites who lived there.~Mennonite Weekly Review--mennoweekly.org/2011/1/17/laughter-short-supply/If theres two things Mennonites know its family and food. Mennonites Dont Dance, Darcie Friesen Hossack's debut collection of short fiction, contains both. The eleven stories...juxtapose Mennonite tradition with the modern world and emphasize the differences between generations,...Each story is a snapshot, a moment in the lives of its subjects, which almost always includes the preparation or eating of food in the storyline. Tradition can bring these families together or tear them apart, but in the end blood is always thicker than water. Hossack writes in such a way that the sounds, smells, and stories nearly come off the page. You can almost smell the rollkuchen, hear the crisp crunch of fresh watermelon, and taste the sweetness of dandelion wine. Her prose is simple but delicate, plain but punchy...Hossack also creates characters that are real and storylines that often veer off in dark and disturbing directions. What makes the book so compelling are these believably human and often flawed characters (especially among the older ones), who not only defy Mennonite stereotypes, but move the reader in the process, with their humanity and their depth...Since its release in fall 2010, Mennonites Dont Dance has received a lot of praise, including being shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize for first fiction. The story ""Little Lamb"" was nominated for the McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize, and ""Ashes"" and ""Dandelion Wine"" placed second and third at the Okanagan Short Fiction Contest. --Winnipeg ReviewThese stories [in Mennonites Dont Dance] revolve around the family dynamics of rural Saskatchewan Mennonites, focusing on the differences between generations. While only a few of the stories are actually connected, all of the stories have a real sense of community. As I read the stories, it felt like I was walking down the street from one family to another, sitting in their living room, and watching a brief episode of their lives. I loved this collection of stories...Darcie Hossack writes with a maturity that is way beyond a first book. Her prose is sparse and punchy but has a poetic quality, the characters are developed quickly and deeply, and the stories vary from short episodes of only a couple pages to longer 40+ page stories that feel like miniature novels. The highest compliment that I can pay this book is that it reminded me of the best work of Mavis Gallant. Both writers share many qualities in terms of style of writing and treatment of characters. The cast of the stories are developed on a deep level within a couple paragraphs, as they should be in short stories; there are many characters that are very likable and sympathetic but there are also many characters that are very brash and hard to handle, typically the older generation characters in the stories. Hossack is merciless with her characters. Their experiences and hardships are not sugar-coated. There is death. There is suffering. Through it all though the beauty of the prose reveals a mysterious world unknown to many people. 2010 seemed to be the year of the [short] story with a lot of collections receiving high praise. Id say this is the best of that crowd. --Canadian Book ReviewThis slender book of 11 short stories is a complex treasure. Each story is wrapped in themes of anger, guilt and the Mennonite work ethic. Thankfully, the jagged edges of this treasure are gilded, occasionally, with grace and hope. Mennonites Don't Dance is the first book from Darcie Friesen Hossack..,Her writing is crisp, evocative and spellbinding, her characters and plots strong. Almost all the stories are set in southern Saskatchewan, somewhere outside of Swift Current, in the 1970s and '80s. With black humour and shrewd wit, they explore family relationships. Mental illness in its twin forms of depression and anxiety are depicted. Anger and gentleness take turns, but there is often the ominous sense that violence is just around the corner. What makes these stories ""Mennonite""? Food and stern spirituality play front and centre. Rollkuchen and borscht are matched with penance and prayer...For example, Anke is a middle-aged woman who finds that tomatoes make her ""nervous"" with their ""shameless red and soft flesh that yields to the slightest pressure."" All of the stories feature characters who are emotionally wounded. Sometimes it's clear that the hurt is a result of loss or abuse. Other times, we have no clue why a character is so cantankerous...Lizbeth is a deeply disturbed young woman who appears in two stories, the title piece and Magpie. Her favourite brother was murdered as a teenager when Lizbeth was just 13, and she can't get over his death: ""she planted her grief like a seedling in the ground and watered it with anger. At times, she even spoke to it to help it grow."" The story of Lizbeth's decline from a beautiful, happy girl to a deeply depressed adult is tragic and the images linger long after reading. The glimpses of grace are a relief: the aunt who cooks baby potatoes with cream and dill, the son who cares for his terminally ill, abusive father, the sister who tries to protect her misunderstood sibling. Hossack's writing may remind readers of Manitoba-born Mennonite authors Patrick Friesen and Miriam Toews. Like The Shunning and A Complicated Kindness, the stories here illuminate the sad reality that not all of Mennonite religion and culture is healthy. And no family is easy. --Winnipeg Free Press Jan 2011 From the Back CoverDarcie Hossack's stories reverberate with what has been left unsaid, the silence between people that speaks of betrayal, forgiveness, and the power of love to prevail. This is a fine debut by a very promising writer.~ Sandra BirdsellUncompromising and often devastating, the stories in this collection prove the title true-both literally and metaphorically-but these very constraints make the stories' hard-won moments of joy and insight especially memorable. A vivid, breathtaking book.~ Andreas SchroederDarcie Hossack introduces a culture in which dancing is verboten but the sensual pleasures of food are celebrated with artery-clogging abandon; life is cruel but rich in moments of grace. With unflinching honest, black humour and compassion, she serves up prose as richly palatable as cream gravy.~ Betty Jane Hegerat, author of Delivery