In a world that can overwhelm us with the carefree fantasies of self-help books and distorted, media-saturated hyper-happiness, the stories of Marci Denesiuk leave us with the idea that loneliness is the normal human condition. Despite this stark conclusion, the very lonely and lost people in Denesiuk’s touching and intriguing collection show no hint of self-pity and are thus engaging, lovable, and totally believable.

The connecting themes of loneliness and the need to find one’s place in the world run through each story. Yet each narrative provides its own unique setting, characters, and intriguing slant on Denesiuk’s themes. The prose can be unsettling to the unsuspecting reader, forcing us to look at our own loneliness and despair. Thankfully, Denesiuk never leaves us there, but through the dignity of the characters and their choices, offers us hope, in often unexpected ways.

Despite this compelling material, the stories’ endings often feel incomplete, leaving the reader longing to know more about this crazy collection of souls. And one of the stories, “The Woman Who Sat by the Sea,” feels out of place because of its highly imagistic narrative. While the story is a bold experiment, it ultimately becomes fairly incomprehensible.

Denesiuk has written a series of beautiful experiences for the reader that are emotional, satisfying, and disturbing at the same time. Although loneliness does not abate and home is not often found, the hope that this will somehow shift for the characters – and perhaps for the reader – remains with us.