With the title "Despair" you'd be inclined to think the collection would be a lot of dark stories. Well, you'd be right. Although you might underestimate how dark the stories are. They're black as midnight during an Arctic winter. That's not to say they're not wonderfully written - they are. Alexis is a superb writer. The stories are haunting, the characters are memorable and the unease you'll feel during and after reading these strange, haunting tales is palpable. Recommended! 4 stars.

*Edit - I read Days by Moonlight earlier this year. I totally forgot that was also written by Alexis. I picked Despair up at a book sale just by happenstance. This makes two four-star books from him. I'll be tracking down more. ( )

The stories in this collection tend towards the eerie, and some go well beyond the eerie into the macabre. Variously about or at least tied to Ottawa as a locale, the stories touch on pivotal moments in a life - the transition to adulthood, love, marriage, death, and especially the rites associated with death. The narrator’s tone is often distant or neutral despite what might be happening. Characters may be English or French speakers and the text will switch back and forth seamlessly. Usually a metaphysical aspect will emerge in the telling of the tale.

It is always interesting to go back and read a well-entrenched author’s earliest work. Here, many of Alexis’ later themes are evident, including the peculiar obsession with street addresses numbered “128” (I don’t know what that is about). The best of the stories are probably the most macabre ones such as “The Night Piece” or “The Third Terrace”. It seems a proof of their strength in that I like these stories even though I wouldn’t normally express any interest in such dark themes. I’m not sure this collection will stand up in the long run as having quietly heralded a great writer in gestation (as compared to say Lorrie Moore’s first collection). But it does enough to justify reading now whilst Alexis is mid-career. Gently recommended. ( )

It's always great fun to read a local story and navigate in one's city. Alexis adds a new dimension to our little town by adding a ghost and spiritual dimension which comes from his own caribbean background. ( )