The Whole Beautiful World

August 15, 2017
Stories explore the inner turmoil of characters struggling against the constraints of family, religion, and love.At the end of "Mother of the Bride Dress," the sixth story in Kuipers' debut collection, a late-middle-aged woman shimmies across the dance floor at her daughter's wedding. Recently reinvigorated by a stray compliment and attendance at a Pentecostal church service, the woman notices her daughter watching her "with delight or perhaps with derision" but decides that the look "would turn to delight if she danced long enough." Kuipers is especially interested in working toward these types of quiet revelations, though they aren't always for the better. In "Holy Oil," a young girl who tries to exorcise her wily younger brother with oil she bought from a TV preacher has to confront the reality of televangelism--and her family. In "Road Pizza," a group of friends can no longer find ways to communicate after a freak accident shadows their relationships. Kuipers grew up in a Dutch-Canadian Christian community, and many of her stories are shot through with spiritual turmoil, though her treatment of this turmoil is satisfyingly nuanced. In "Happy All the Time," one of Kuipers' few male protagonists is able to cope with an abrasive stepfather by turning to youth groups and Bible study until his commitment to God turns him into the type of man he was trying to run away from. These are quiet stories, sometimes eschewing traditional notions of arc and climax, and often quite short; the result is that they can feel more like blueprints for stories than full narratives. But Kuipers' light touch and eye for telling details will keep the reader wanting more. A collection of delicate sketches that mark Kuipers as a writer of promise.

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September 1, 2017
In this soft-sold and pithy new collection of short stories, Kuipers presents a myriad of complicated Canadian women. Born and bred in the Great White North herself, Kuipers works a deft hand to sculpt the characters and environments of each piece. In one, a prenatal ultrasound technician navigates life's perpetual disappointments while waving a wand over lifeless uteruses and dating an unimpressive hot-air balloon pilot. In another, an eighth-grade spitfire fights an all-consuming urge to have a baby. The women of Kuipers' stories vary in age and susceptibility to joining cults, but they all wax epically on the frustrating truths of the female condition. The stories are tight and deeply entertaining; readers will likely gobble the whole book in one satisfying sitting. Kuipers' knack for demonstrating the poetic specificity of everyday life can be best exemplified with this, from Holy Oil, a story of sister-brother ferocity: I held him pinned for three half-minute screams, his face turning the colour of the rims of Mum's eyes. A sly and slim collection.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)