The Moon of Letting Go, Richard Van Camp (Enfield & Wizenty)

Vancouver-based Richard Van Camp is arguably one of the leading short story writers in Canada. Van Camp, in his first collection of stories since 2002's Angel Wing Splash Pattern, has so clearly listened to how people talk, the music and spirit of their language becoming his. These characters are his people, the Dogrib, living regular lives in Yellowknife and Fort Smith, mainly, but in rural and urban British Columbia too. "Dogrib Midnight Runners," from the section "Healing," is a funny, moving and, frankly, beautiful story about three guys, longtime friends, reaffirming their bond in an unexpected way, but one that ends up making perfect sense. Some stories are abruptly incantatory ("I Count Myself Among Them"), requiring some readjustment going in and coming out. But even then, a line reveals its beauty, if not its mystery.