Funny, smart and sharply composed, Nick McArthurs debut book is just what the title suggests a tome on brevity and heartbreak -- an all-out exploration of weirdness. At its heart, Short Accounts of Tragic Occurrences is a full account of failure, and an inventory of loss. The trials and deprivations probed in McArthur's fiction are of the direst variety: a promising sandwich goes completely uneaten; in another, an elderly woman devolves into a ball of flesh; a high-ranking government official falls madly in love with his fax machine, only to find that his love unrequited. With a wry manner and quick gait, this is a bold gambit from a unique voice in Canadian writing.