With surgical precision and understated humour, Kenneth Radu once again demonstrates his remarkable ability to portray ordinary people in sometimes extraordinary circumstances. Whether its the story of an old woman who has given birth, or a professor grieving over the death of his child, or a porn shop owner fighting off the financial predations of his brother, or a wheel-chair bound woman terrified by a voyeur, these stories collectively dramatize the conflict between personal wishes and the hard facts of reality. As the title story suggests, what we dream or think about ourselves may well be pulled down to earth, sometimes with a thud, by the gravitational energy of emotion, relationships, unexpected events, and inescapable truth. As in his previous collection, Sex in Russia, the stories in Earthbound, are all are imbued with Radus subtle irony, deft descriptions, acute insight, and compassion for his characters.
As a writer of short fiction whose very first collection The Cost of Living was nominated for the Governor Generals Award, Radu evinces a sure voice and deft hand. Of his previous book Earthbound, also published by DC Books, a reviewer in The Fiddlehead states 'the variety is dazzling and somewhat daunting because Radu writes convincingly in all of these voices.' Anatanas Sileika confirms in The Toronto Star that Radus earlier book of stories, A Private Performance, is a 'collection of sparkling gems.' Years of crafting the art of the short story has led to Radus mastery of effect and style, not to mention an undercurrent of humour and wit, which enables him to handle emotionally charged and complex dramas. In the words of Prairie Fire reviewing Radus collection Sex in Russia, 'displays the necessary empathy to reveal his protagonists natures, while his morally centered prose provides perspective.