How You Were Born

by Kate Cayley

How You Were Born is a collection of short stories looking at the bizarre, the tragi-comic and the unbelievable elements that run through our lives. An aging academic becomes convinced that he is haunted by his double. Two children believe their neighbours are war criminals in hiding. A dwarf in a circus dreams of a perfect wedding. An eleven-year-old girl becomes obsessed with the acrobat who visits her small town. Two women fall in love over a painting of the apocalypse. A group of siblings put their senile Holocaust survivor father into institutional care, while failing to notice that he is reliving the past. Each story examines, from a different angle, the difficult business of love, loyalty and memory. With elegance and restraint, in spare language, these narratives run the gamut from realistic to uncanny, from ordinary epiphanies to extremities of experience. Settings range from present-day Toronto, to small town Ontario in 1914, to West Virginia in 1967, characters ranging from the very young to the very old, the manifestly unhinged to the ostensibly sane. These are dark stories in which light finds a foothold, and in which connections, frequently missed or mislaid, offer redemption. - Guest editor: Alayna Munce

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Canada, Audiobook

152 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2014

About the author

Kate Cayley is the artistic director and co-founder of For Stranger Theatre. The Hangman in the Mirror is her first novel for young adults. Her writing, including poetry and short fiction, has appeared in a variety of literary magazines. She is currently the writer in residence at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, Ontario.

Reviews

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

The night you were born I dreamed of a train that surged out of the dark, headlights blazing, furious with light. It bore down on the world, shrieking, a great and terrible movement. You stared, unblinking, and your eyes were fixed on the fading afterimage of wherever you were before we are. You were more awake than anyone I had ever seen, your hands waving lightly in the new air. And I thought: this is how you were born.

Back when How You Were Born first won the 2015 Trillium Book Award in June, I heard the most charming story (taken here from The Globe & Mail ):

When the finalists for the (award) were announced last month, Kate Cayley and her partner explained to their 7-year-old daughter that Cayley was nominated alongside some of the best writers in Canada, including Dionne Brand, Thomas King and Margaret Atwood – all past recipients of the prize.

“My daughter, without a beat, said, ‘Well, you’re not going to win.’”

I love that story because, as a reader, I just see the finished book and hear about awards as abstract ideas and I can like this or not because it's just a consumer product in the end, but to Cayley's daughter, this book represents everyday life, maybe the nights when supper was late because Mom was on a roll, and the finished book isn't a product so much as an artefact, and how, therefore, could one's own Mom possibly compare with Margaret Flipping Atwood? I'm thinking the win (and subsequent additional nomination for the Governor General's Award for Fiction) also came as a surprise to Cayley's small Newfoundland publisher because it took me this long to get a copy of the book to read, being totally unavailable to order from the library or online bookstores until now. Consisting of eleven short stories over 150 or so pages, this collection felt, overall, a little light to me compared to the other heavyweights Cayley was competing against, but there's something – some uncanniness – that lingers after this book is closed that feels like it may have affected me more than I consciously realised.

Filled with unusual characters – acrobats and freak show performers, Appalachian folk legends, a Buchenwald survivor afraid of his nursing home and another old guy fighting back against his doppelgänger – it was often difficult for me to make a real mental connection with the stories. But when Cayley wrote from a familiar perspective – as in the eager little sister, ready to play spies with her ASD brother in The Summer the Neighbours Were Nazis or when the 11-year-old shy girl fell for the man with the dragon tattoo in Acrobat – I was totally connected emotionally. Ultimately, there were enough of these connected moments to raise my estimation of this collection, especially in afterthought.

Classics scholar – I've been educated to believe in fate, not the happy resolution kind, but the older kind in which something happens to you and you bow your head and live in it, there's no other choice.

These stories all feel like the slices of fate that you bow your head and live in; not huge dramas but the small events that make up a life nonetheless. The two stories that bookend this collection – Resemblance and How You Were Born – are both about the same lesbian couple and the child they have together, and it seems fitting to me that it's hearing about Cayley's own daughter that made me seek this book. Four stars is a rounding up.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of short stories and really enjoyed this collection. I like being taken outside of my comfort zone and exploring something I may not usually read. That's the great thing about short stories, you never know what's around the corner in the next story. I highly recommend!

My favourites were:
Stain
Bloody Mary
Acrobat
Song and Dance
Boys

My thanks to Book*hug Press for this gifted copy!

[Andrea MacPherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"How You Were Born" beat out Margaret Atwood and Dionne Brand for the Trillium Award, and it's easy to see why. The stories here are varied, muscular, lyrical, and emotionally resonant. I read and loved Cayley's poetry collection, "When This World Comes to an End" last year, and both books showcase her beautiful use of language, and strong voice.

I keep seeing this collection referred to as edgy and bizarre, but this was not my experience at all. It read to me as mature, pitch-perfect literary fiction.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.6/5 I decided to read this collection when I flipped to the line, “I am also blind, though not a poet.” It read like Jeannette Winterson. I was underwhelmed with the first handful of stories—not at all the poetic prose of Winterson I had expected or wanted—but was sucked into the world of “Long Term Care,” “Young Hennerly,” and “Boys.”

[Karen Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to be in the mood for short stories, and when I do read them, I want them to be moody. I want them to be evocative. I want them to bring me to the edge of comfort, humanity, understanding, love, and I want them to leave me there, dangling.

Finished this collection last night, and I still can't find my footing.

[Nic Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exceptional collection of short stories that kept me interested and impressed despite being quite outside of what I would normally enjoy. It steers clear of the usual failings of short story collections (overlapping voices, interchangeable characters, repetitive stories) by being essentially unrelated, with no particular overarching theme beyond "So how about being alive, eh?" Cayley has an incredible talent for writing a variety of characters, some who feel close to her heart and others who feel a little under fire, but who are still getting a fair shot at making a good impression. I really appreciated that even the deadbeat characters were respected in their own stories, and that I was encouraged to form my own opinion of every person in every story. I think anyone who enjoys any kind of literary fiction would enjoy this collection.

[Alison Gadsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not the version I read. Book*hug Press released a revised collection with added stories, so check it out.

I could read only short stories for the rest of my life, so if you're like me, grab a copy of this.

Kate says “I like to think a short story is a form with some humility in relation to the reader, who might read on the subway, while waiting to pick up a child from school, in the exhausted moments before bed. A story can sneak into your preoccupied life and will not take up too much of your time. A story can be a small yet quietly transformative thing, like an unexpected conversation with a stranger “

And the first story in the collection, resemblance, was very much a transformative thing to read.

[Margarita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading a work by Kate Cayley. I picked up this collection of short stories because it was shortlisted for the 2015 Governor General’s Literary Award. Cayley uses clean, economical prose to articulate her take on the human experience with a focus on love, loyalty and memory. Although I may not come from the same background as her characters, her approach to these themes enables me to find a sense of commonality with them. Stories that really struck a chord are: ‘The Summer the Neighbours were Nazis’, ‘Stain’, ‘Midway Midgets and Giants, Photograph 1914’ and ‘Long Term Care’.

[Dju Dans la lune · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai lu la version traduite en français. J'ai été attirée à la bibliothèque par la beauté de ce livre, par sa belle couverture (éditions marchandes de feuilles) et le format de celui-ci. J’ai particulièrement aimé la nouvelle ¨poète aveugle¨, l'amour entre deux femmes. L'auteure réussis à nous faire voyager dans différents univers et différentes époques. L'amour, la loyauté, la norme/différence et la mémoire y est explorer dans ces nouvelles. Bref, une belle découverte (livre/auteure), je te le recommande.

[Natalie Believe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audiobook, and I just loved the author's intro about short stories, and connecting with an audience, which resonnated with me so deeply. Overall, I enjoyed this collection, these glimpses into lives, brief flashes into someone's reality. I had a few moments of discomfort with the portaits of young boys framed with some form of unnamed intellectual disability or neurodivergence, but as the story unfolded it seemed true to the story and the characters perception. Wistful read that leaves me pondering.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of beautifully written stories...but they're certainly not on the happier end of the spectrum. The mass of melancholy and depressing situations make this a bit of a slog for such a compact book. The stories are honest depictions of humanity, but I wish there was a bit more daylight peeking through the pages.

[Ajhegstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read a collection of short stories. I like the uncertainty of what you're reading and just as you get enveloped in the storyline, it ends. It's such a brief picture into the bizarre, the comic, the tragic. I found I enjoyed it since it was such a break from what I normally read

[maddie. · Rating 4 out of 5]

a nice little collection of stories. cayley strikes a nice balance between realism and absurdity, and each story is well paced and just right in length, neither rushing nor dragging. felt like eating a box of fancy chocolates.

thnx netgalley! xoxo

[Kelly Pramberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy-to-read and quirky these stories were a pleasant change of pace for me. I liked they left me thinking about what I just learned from each character. Solid writing and very creative. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Matthew McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A diverse, tightly woven collection, full of stories which turn on epiphanies and understated, small moments. Well worth reading.

Best stories: "Stain," "Acrobat," "Boys," "How You Were Born."

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books of all time. Bizarre and beautifully written. Every short story in this collection drew me in and left me anticipating the next. Highly recommend.

[Banuta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a superb collection of stories. Cayley looks into people as if they were closets she can rummage through, pick up a garment, run her hands across the cloth. A great read.

[Mish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very compact writing and varied subjects, highly absorbing stories.

[Kimberley · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star.
One word review - Boring!

[Clivemichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evocative, compelling and provocative.

[Daniela Bularzik · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, really enjoyed some of the stories others fell flat to me

[Eiji T]

A wonderful short-story collection!

[Monica Penthor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the selection for the March meeting of the Beaches Book Club. This is a collection of short stories. The first and last story deal with lesbian motherhood and is told with honesty and respect. The stories are a bit unsettling but nevertheless compelling. I look forward to the discussion with our Book Club. Most people did not like the auhor's short stories. Found them quirky. Good discussion.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Examining the complexities of human relationships.

How did the book make me feel/think?

Cayley’s raw and honest storytelling delves into the complexities of human relationships, examining love's power to both heal and harm. Past traumas and unspoken truths entangle her characters, illustrating how our histories shape us.

In her vivid and evocative prose, Cayley expresses the heartbreak and beauty within human connections, while highlighting our inherent interconnectedness despite differences.

Her narratives champion the significance of empathy and understanding, offering hope for redemption and healing, even in our bleakest periods.

Cayley’s work stands as a powerful reminder in a fragmented, disconnected world of the need for compassion and forgiveness. Exploring themes of love, loyalty, and memory, she underscores our collective bond through the shared experiences that define our humanity.

WRITTEN: 4 May 2024

[sim · Rating 3 out of 5]

stuck between a 3 or 3.5 but i did enjoy this collection. despite liking it, i found it difficult to finish this and i think this stagnation is more of a personal reflection rather than the quality of the narratives or diction.

here are some quotes i liked from the book:

"Perhaps they understood everything, and minded nothing, because not many people actually care very much, one way or another, how someone else lives." (from 'Heirloom')

"Things like the dream just bubbled up from somewhere, unexplained and unexplainable, and you had to look at these things squarely sometimes but not too much, not too often, because you just had to live. You lived with things that could not be made meaningful in the same way you lived with the shape of your nose." (from 'Bloody Mary')

"Grace saw, tattooed in clear capitals along the woman's neck, NO ONE CAN SAVE YOU, but the words had the opposite effect on Grace: she wanted the woman, and she wanted to save her. She had wanted to save Avery, and it shames her later, and when she tries to stop herself from thinking she can save people, because it is patronizing and self-serving and it makes her unhappy. Grace wants some peace in her life now, she wants to live alone, she wants to build tiny rooms and fill them with tiny furniture but no people, Grace is still given to extremes." (from 'Bloody Mary')

[Jessica Gadd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of stories! We don't read many of these, but once in a while, we like to change it up ☺️ This is the 10th anniversary edition of Kate Cayley's How You Were Born, which includes three new stories. Each story examines the difficult business of love, loyalty, and memory. We really enjoyed this collection with our favorite story being The Summer The Neighbors Were Nazis. It's so good! We're pretty sure that's where the cover idea came from too.

[Tracy Trofimencoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it. I am a big fan of short stories. I liked how the beginning and the end story were connected to each other. I have never read anything by Cayley before but liked her characters and how she could write from the perspective of a child, an adult and both genders. It was a quick and enjoyable read.

[Chantal (atozbookaholic) de Rocquigny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy short stories books. Some stories are good and others aren't. I enjoyed most of the stories. I love the uncertainty of what you're reading. It's a such brief picture of the bizarre, the comic, and the tragic. I love the story of the little sister ready to play spies with her brother who is autistic.

[Daniel Bergman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous prose and fully-drawn characters elevate this collection above standard CanLit fare. The descriptions of people and places are so vivid and original, the action feels as though it's unfolding in real time before your eyes. Even at its most heartbreaking, I didn't want it to end.

[Leslie A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been a fan of short stories but this collection has changed my mind - every story leaves a powerful imprint.