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4th out of 17 books
—
16 voters
The Beggar's Garden
Brilliantly sure-footed, strikingly original, tender and funny, this memorable collection of nine linked stories follows a diverse group of curiously interrelated characters— from bank manager to crackhead to retired Samaritan to mental patient to web designer to car thief — as they drift through each other’s lives like ghosts in Vancouver’s notorious Downtown Eastside.
The...more
The...more
Paperback, 262 pages
Published
by HarperCollins
(first published January 14th 2011)
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Read. This. Book. Life changing read. SO much more than another bleak collection of stories about the Vancouver East Side. Don't be scared to dive into this book - the eloquent and compelling stories within serve to remind us that humanity takes many forms - and that what makes us different from each other is our histories. Michael Christie reminds us that there are people behind the stereotypes. With his authentic voice, he makes us think what we would do, who we would be, how we would act and...more
The stories fit nicely into one another, like Timothy Taylor’s Stanley Park. They contain everything you would anticipate from a Vancouver book, deftly demonstrating the poignancy, empathy and awareness of it’s author. As if articulating the faults of the city absolves us from sharing in it’s guilt. Somehow though, in part in his simplicity, in part for his complete absolution to leave the stories separate, to present them objectively, in with an almost mathematical degree of calculation.
In the...more
In the...more
This collection of short stories is set in the “riotous and hellish, but strangely contained, slum of [Vancouver’s] Downtown Eastside”. This area which includes part of Hastings Street is infamous across Canada. As one of Christie’s characters observes: “It was as if the country had been tipped up at one end and all the sorry b!@#$%$s had slid west, stopping only when they reached the sea, perhaps because the sea didn’t want them either.”
Told from various points of view – the grandfather who lea...more
Told from various points of view – the grandfather who lea...more
Just loved this collection of short stories about the DTES (downtown east side) in Vancouver, particularly because it doesn't just focus on what we think of as the majority of the residents of this area, the dispossessed, the homeless, and the drug addicts who flock to Pigeon Park (pun intended). One of my favourite stories in the collection was "The Queen of Cans and Jars," about a woman who's been running a thrift shop after working for Woodwards for 20 years. Here's an example of Christie's d...more
Faces swing into our orbit and out again like comets, trajectories forever altered by Oppie’s generous crack policies and philosophical musings. He is electric and alive. His interest is insatiable. Lecturing as he walks, he relates mind-bending scientific concepts with ease and grace. We are a team. Although nobody recognizes him, I feel proud to be partying with such a distinguished man of science. Prostitutes approach him and he respectfully tells them he has no interest in “erotic labour” bu...more
One of my favourite things about this book is Christie's titles. They're genius.
"Emergency Contact" is about a woman who is completely isolated, and creates nonexistent relationships with certain paramedics she finds reasons to call again and again. At one point she's asked to give her emergency contact info, and asks to pass because she has no one to write down.
"Discard" is about a kid who is abandoned by his parents, raised by his grandparents, and ends up homeless on the streets of Vancouver...more
"Emergency Contact" is about a woman who is completely isolated, and creates nonexistent relationships with certain paramedics she finds reasons to call again and again. At one point she's asked to give her emergency contact info, and asks to pass because she has no one to write down.
"Discard" is about a kid who is abandoned by his parents, raised by his grandparents, and ends up homeless on the streets of Vancouver...more
Sadly, this collection did not live up to its hype. It was not an uneven collection, but that observation is a way to say that none of the pieces stood out. I did not feel that any of the pieces actually became an excellent short story. Christie's skill is his evocative descriptions, and he is especially fond of turning nouns into verbs (don't knock it - that's where "mushroomed" got its start).
My favourite story, An Ideal Companion, is about obsessive dog owners (an overly common Vancouver bree...more
My favourite story, An Ideal Companion, is about obsessive dog owners (an overly common Vancouver bree...more
To be fair I would actually rate this 2.5 stars instead of three. My thoughts are that this collection of short stories are uneven, most of the stories are supposed to be character driven, but in the end I felt disappointed. I didn't feel like I was reading about people, more like words on a page. It's fiction, that doesn't matter. If you're a good writer you can get your reader to get involved with the character.
The last story, "The Beggar's Garden," which the collection is named after, is pro...more
The last story, "The Beggar's Garden," which the collection is named after, is pro...more
Michael Christie's collection of stories is set in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, a rough area of the city. Read together, the stories are linked thematically by the loneliness of the characters that offers a portrait of a community in which people are struggling against separate demons. Christie is hugely successful in creating compelling characters, whose voices speak from the margins, yet offer great insight into their world and human experience as a whole.
In "Discard", a grandfather trying t...more
In "Discard", a grandfather trying t...more
A great collection of Vancouver-set stories from former pro skateboarder Michael Christie.
My favourites are the first story, Emergency Contact, which is both laugh-out-loud and break-your-heart good, and the best story in the collection in my opinion, The Extra, and An Ideal Companion.
Vancouver's "notorious Downtown Eastside" (ALWAYS gotta say it like that) was a place I didn't know about until seeing the documentary series about the cops who patrol the area, The Beat. It's on OLN, and sometime...more
My favourites are the first story, Emergency Contact, which is both laugh-out-loud and break-your-heart good, and the best story in the collection in my opinion, The Extra, and An Ideal Companion.
Vancouver's "notorious Downtown Eastside" (ALWAYS gotta say it like that) was a place I didn't know about until seeing the documentary series about the cops who patrol the area, The Beat. It's on OLN, and sometime...more
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Debut collection of short stories, mostly set in Vancouver's Downtown East side. I liked the setting and some of the description that Christie brought to the stories was just beautiful.
There were some stories I liked better than others. Christie used to work with mentally ill people, and 2 of the stories deal with mental illness. He does a great job of showing the lives of street people and the mentally ill. I felt this collection was a bit uneven, but still showed a lot of talent.
There were some stories I liked better than others. Christie used to work with mentally ill people, and 2 of the stories deal with mental illness. He does a great job of showing the lives of street people and the mentally ill. I felt this collection was a bit uneven, but still showed a lot of talent.
Although the title for Michael Christie’s story collection is drawn from the final story, it might well have been pulled from the second story’s title, “Discard”.
It’s at the heart of this debut collection: that which has been left behind, tossed out, put in the trash, given away, or dismissed as no longer useful/valuable/functional.
(Literally “at the heart”, for the author clearly feels a strong emotional connection with the discarded.)
People or objects that have been cast aside: these are the f...more
It’s at the heart of this debut collection: that which has been left behind, tossed out, put in the trash, given away, or dismissed as no longer useful/valuable/functional.
(Literally “at the heart”, for the author clearly feels a strong emotional connection with the discarded.)
People or objects that have been cast aside: these are the f...more
This collection of connected short stories is really quite good. First work for this author. The stories are very thought provoking and original. The stories are set in Vancouver. I pretty much ran the gamut of emotions as I read these stories, ranging from laughing myself sick with some of them to wiping tears from my eyes due to heartbreak from others.
A series of short stories, based mostly in Vancouver, BC, told from the point of view of the homeless, the mentally ill/institutionalized, and those who interact with them. An amazing look into lives that we don't/can't imagine. Worth the read. Listed for several lit prizes, winner of the City of Vancouver Book Award.
One of the strongest short story collections I've read in the past few years. Christie's characters are vibrant and unapologetic, and each story is fresh and compelling. Sharp, powerful writing that reads with ease and pleasure. I can't wait to read what this talented young writer comes up with next.
Read the summary & was very intrigued - had a bloody hard time getting through even three of the short stories. Nothing in particular actually happened! I've noticed the last few short stories collects I've read have been curiously inert, but this was felt even more strangely stifled and static.
Engaging voices, sharp observations, a book of the variously lost and found that could have been vleaked but is saved from being so by a comic sensibility and a nuanced respect for the yearning human heart under the skin of circumstance.
I suppose I could have been more generous, as this collection of stories did evoke emotions in me. But all in all, it was so depressing, so hollow-eyed and hopeless. I'm not familiar with the slums of Vancouver (indeed, did not even know Vancouver possessed such a thing), and so I may be missing some context.
A collection of short stories set in Vancouver, mostly the downtown eastside. This is his first novel, & while I don't normally read short stories I enjoyed this collection.
Mar 07, 2012
Joan
added it
I give up. This book is too depressing. short stories about homelessness and mental illness. Yikes! Just not for me.
What a lovely gem of short stories. It brings to mind Steinbeck in finding the beauty and tragedy in the ones who live on the periphery of society. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed short stories.
Michael Christie has a way of looking at people and seeing the core of their being. He sees not the “discards” of society as he tells these stories but the people with dreams, ideas and feelings. He tells their stories with dignity, truth and understanding. I enjoyed every story within these pages.
The plights of the people in these stories are told in a way that brings their fears, paranoia and addictions to the reader. We share in their mania and look into their pasts.
Very well written. Chris...more
The plights of the people in these stories are told in a way that brings their fears, paranoia and addictions to the reader. We share in their mania and look into their pasts.
Very well written. Chris...more
Interesting stories about messed up people set in Vancouver.
Confusing.
It was too odd for me and I couldn't finish partly because the characters where despondent without hope
I just loved this book so much. This is Christie’s first book; his stories about marginal characters in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side are long and involved and read like mini-novels, which is pretty much my favourite kind of short fiction. They are gritty, but not bleak, honest and compelling. Christie was shortlised to a few awards for this collection and is the winner of the City of Vancouver Book Award. (And look at this gorgeous cover!)
This was in interesting group of semi-interlinking stories, each stand-alone, that had some great spots. Being from Vancouver, and all the stories set in Vancouver, and each story with a tie to the Downtown East Side, I could imagine each of the characters, where they walked and lived.
I wish I could have given this book 5 stars but there was just "something" missing to warrant the fifth star. Enjoyable read though.
I wish I could have given this book 5 stars but there was just "something" missing to warrant the fifth star. Enjoyable read though.
These stories show the rougher side of Vancouver, but they do so with a touch of grace. Michael Christie is psychologies who spent many hours working with the homeless and mentally ill people of Vancouver. He brings different aspects of their situations to light with poise, humour and a sensitivity that reminds us that we are all human together, despite our differences in circumstance.
The writing is brilliant, strong, and humorous—but not derogatory. Christie writes straightforwardly about the characters conditions, and some stories don’t even deal with someone directly linked to the DTES, but someone they know or love.
Read my full review: http://www.monniblog.com/2011/02/the-...
Read my full review: http://www.monniblog.com/2011/02/the-...
Oct 04, 2011
Cait
marked it as to-read
Recommended to Cait by:
Petra
Shelves:
short-stories,
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Michael Christie was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He moved to Vancouver immediately following high school to pursue a career in skateboarding. Shortly thereafter, he enrolled at Simon Fraser University where he earned an undergraduate degree in psychology.
After graduation, he found a job in an emergency homeless shelter on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. He worked there for five years, performing...more
More about Michael Christie...
After graduation, he found a job in an emergency homeless shelter on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. He worked there for five years, performing...more
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