From Publishers Weekly
Heartbreak and betrayal run through Redhill's slim collection of muted but well-wrought stories examining the damage people inflict on themselves and others when their relationships fail. Redhill (Martin Sloane) gives his characters believable vulnerabilities and a touching humanity, even as they make messes of their lives: a traveling school-portrait photographer who visits his ex-wife each year tries but fails to tell her how things have changed; a father finds himself unable to cope with his teenage daughter's shocking sexual behavior; a young woman struggling with a rocky relationship doubts the very idea of connection to another person; and a Jewish man wrestles with the morality of banking his sperm before he has a vasectomy that will make intimacy with his wife easier. In one of the most affecting stories, "Long Division," a precocious child bears the burden of his parents' disenchantment with each other. Redhill's writing is graceful, so his stories of people who are "lonesome with people and without them" are moving without being maudlin. Most of the 10 tales contain a whopper of a flashback—a childhood memory that goes a long way toward explaining how the protagonist became the scarred adult he or she is—and while the device begins to feel overused, it's a small flaw in an otherwise quietly moving collection. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Redhill, author of the critically acclaimed novel Martin Sloane (2002), now presents a collection of 10 short stories that explore intimacy, desire, relationships, and family vulnerabilities. A man remains friendly with his ex-wife but keeps dashing her hopes of rekindling their relationship. A teenager's sexual promiscuity ravages her relationship with her parents. A young woman is troubled by the failing relationship of an older couple she holds in high regard. A couple is driven apart by the unusual brilliance of their child, a mathematics prodigy. A man has an affair on a business trip, leaving him emptier than he ever thought possible. The twists and turns of Redhill's marvelous stories are not unusual, and that's what makes them so wonderful--these are experiences, sometimes devastating and cruel, that could very well be the stories of anyone with a family or relationship. Redhill explores the trust and boundaries of what happens in a relationship, and the varying degrees of fidelity that come with it, in these richly nuanced, beautifully composed vignettes. Michael Spinella
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
?Michael Redhill is a writer of considerable humanity and insight.? -- A.L. Kennedy, author of On Bullfighting, Original Bliss and Everything You Need

Praise for Martin Sloane:

?Art and life collide in [an] explosive debut. . . . Redhill?s language is masterful; imagery and metaphor rise organically out of each event and picture. . . . The pacing of the writing is marvellous, and conscious of the heaviness of history.? -- The Globe and Mail

?Redhill?s book, not unlike the later stories of Henry James, is a work of fiction in which thoughts speak more loudly than words and the distinction between art and life is the story?s real mystery.? -- The San Francisco Chronicle

?Michael Redhill?s first novel seems destined to become a small classic, one of those books handed from friend to friend. . . . With this luminous, wonderful book, Michael Redhill highlights the complexities of human relationships in profound and unexpected ways.? -- Books in Canada


Book Description
Michael Redhill conjures up many unexpected twists in 10 richly textured stories that range from the darkness of family silences to the hilarity of people caught in their own snares. The vulnerabilities of Redhill's characters are our own: a business-trip affair leaves a man humbled in ways he cannot anticipate; a young lover discovers she does not understand what connects people to each other; a traveling salesman, in trying to remain friends with his ex-wife, keeps breaking her heart; and a teenager's shocking sexuality inflicts wounds on her family. FIDELITY probes the nature of temptation and desire, the ambivalence at the heart of our most intimate trusts, and the paradox of betrayal, which is that we cannot deceive others unless we have first deceived ourselves. With his unflinching attention to emotional detail, Redhill proves once again to be "a writer of considerable humanity and insight." (A. L. Kennedy)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Michael Redhill follows his acclaimed novel Martin Sloane with a masterful and haunting collection of short fiction that asks the question, what does it mean to be true? Fidelity probes the nature of temptation and desire, the ambivalence at the heart of our most intimate trusts, and the paradox of betrayal, which is that we cannot deceive others unless we have first deceived ourselves. In stories that range from the darkness of family silences to the hilarity of people caught in their own snares, Redhill shows how transgression often feels like something quite different -- until it is too late. The vulnerabilities of Redhill's characters are our own: a business-trip affair leaves a man humbled in ways he could not have anticipated; a young lover discovers she does not understand what connects people to each other; a traveling salesman, in trying to remain friends with his ex-wife, keeps breaking her heart; and a teenager's shocking sexuality inflicts wounds on her family. With his subtle wit and unflinching attention to emotional detail, Redhill proves once again to be "a writer of considerable humanity and insight" (A. L. Kennedy).

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Heartbreak and betrayal run through Redhill's slim collection of muted but well-wrought stories examining the damage people inflict on themselves and others when their relationships fail. Redhill (Martin Sloane) gives his characters believable vulnerabilities and a touching humanity, even as they make messes of their lives: a traveling school-portrait photographer who visits his ex-wife each year tries but fails to tell her how things have changed; a father finds himself unable to cope with his teenage daughter's shocking sexual behavior; a young woman struggling with a rocky relationship doubts the very idea of connection to another person; and a Jewish man wrestles with the morality of banking his sperm before he has a vasectomy that will make intimacy with his wife easier. In one of the most affecting stories, "Long Division," a precocious child bears the burden of his parents' disenchantment with each other. Redhill's writing is graceful, so his stories of people who are "lonesome with people and without them" are moving without being maudlin. Most of the 10 tales contain a whopper of a flashback-a childhood memory that goes a long way toward explaining how the protagonist became the scarred adult he or she is-and while the device begins to feel overused, it's a small flaw in an otherwise quietly moving collection. (Mar. 23) Forecast: Redhill is a well-known poet and novelist in Canada-his novel Martin Sloane was a finalist for the prestigious Giller Prize. This collection may have trouble standing out in a crowded field, but Redhill's elegant prose and the book's simple, inviting jacket should help convince browsers to take a second look. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Redhill follows his acclaimed first novel, Martin Sloan, with this short story collection. Meditations on sadness, betrayal, and familial isolation, the ten tales depict people in various relations with their friends, family, and themselves. In the first and best story, "Mount Morris," a photographer of elementary-school children makes his annual visit to his ex-wife. A personal struggle occurs that takes the mood of their meeting from cordial to intense and desperate. "Long Division" is an excellent study of a mother's mistrust of her eight-year-old son: "She longed for him to have weaknesses, to try something and fail. It was a strange way to express her love, to want him to taste the poison of disappointment. She thought if he did, though, he might develop its antibodies: humility, humor, resilience." A disturbing narrative, "The Victim, Who Cannot Be Named" chronicles two parents' reactions to a video tape of their daughter performing sexual acts with several boys. Its quiet yet shocking conclusion resonates long after the story is finished. Readers who value spare, contemporary stories that examine human thoughts and feelings will like this; recommended for larger public libraries with an emphasis on midlist modern-day fiction.-Christopher Korenowsky, Columbus, OH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews