The King of Siam

'Each of the stories in Murray Logan's debut collection is a treat, but none embodies so compactly his themes as the first, "Everett and Evalyne". The tale, which unwraps the birthday present that the narrator, Evalyne, gives herself, takes place in Vancouver, but it has an exotic air, not just as the character study of an aged eccentric but more as the dispatch from a far-off land. Set (in part) in an affluent blue-rinse neighbourhood, it nonetheless has more to do with tattoo parlours and motorcycles than with matrons and sensible shoes. This is the story's surprising delight, and through it we discover Logan's enduring concerns: the isolation of life on the margins; the weight that physical details play in stories about quiet people who cannot or will not connect; and that moment in life that does not so much impel into the future as it closes a chapter on the past.' Quill & Quire 'Canada produces a disproportionately high number of short-story writers. It's too early to declare Murray Logan an Alice Munro or a Mavis Gallant. However, The King of Siam constitutes an auspicious debut for the Vancouver writer. It shows in two important ways. First, a strong and distinct voice, unifies the diversity of the thirteen stories... Second, while readers will undoubtedly prefer certain stories over others, there isn't a weak one in the collection... Logan is a keen observer; but there is none of the dispassionate voyeur in his writing. Rather, he is a deeply compassionate writer who makes us care about his characters.' The Kitchener-Waterloo Record