John Mutford's 6th Short Story Pick- Kenneth J. Harvey's "No better a house"

Short Story Monday

Cross posted at The Book Mine Set.

I'm still in Newfoundland visiting family, so this post will once again be short. I picked today's story (Kenneth J. Harvey's No better a house) because it's by a Newfoundlander and certainly captures a lot of how I've felt this trip. It deals with change, resiliency, and the subjectivity of progress all at once. Unlike Leon Rooke's "Yellow House" which I wrote about a couple weeks back, the pacing here is less jarring. Whereas Rooke masterfully kept the intensity high with sudden and unexpected juxtapositions, Harvey employs a different tactic but with no less skill. Somehow this one felt more sneaky. At one point I realized my eyebrows had raised yet I had no idea when it happened.

The Soundtrack
1. Less Cities More Moving People- The Fixx
2. My Old Wooden Shack- Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers
3. Burning Down The House- Talking Heads
4. On The Real- Bottled Beats
5. I Shall Not Be Moved- Johnny Cash