Full disclosure, I'm not a huge fan of short stories. But, I really enjoyed this collection. Baker's stories were unconventional to me; they were not neatly wrapped up in formulaic paper adorned with a little bow of resolution. Instead, the author deftly drops you off in this awkward place somewhere between sardonic laughter and tears of pain with no clear resolution in sight except that which the reader extrapolates on her own. Each story was a window slowly opening onto a view of insightful, relate able life glimpses only to have that same window quickly slam shut just moments before revelation. Extra points for the strong Canadian west coast flavour woven in to every story.