Goth Girls of Banff

October 15, 2020
This sharp and chilly collection of stories examines the humanity and darkness of the Canadian Rockies. O'Neill's intrepid characters have been hardened by their surroundings. A parolee hitchhikes with a young family; an overweight hiker meets, and insists on hiking with, a couple that he previously overheard fornicating. One story follows a husband meditating over his late wife's life as he scatters her ashes at the mouth of a beloved river. Another, unusual in form, describes the setups for a series of photos taken of Marilyn Monroe around famous Banff landmarks in August 1953. A particularly memorable piece moves between 1916 and 2008 to tell the story of three generations of men and the legacy of Canadian internment during WWI. The titular story chronicles two sisters who start a business offering myriad services as Goth dressers to Banff visitors. In the final piece, a veterinary medical examiner discovers human belongings inside the stomach of a killer bear. The depth and variety of perspectives O'Neill writes make this collection a staggeringly endearing pastiche.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)