Object Lessons

In her memoir and guide to fiction writing, Bird by Bird, from 1994, the best-selling author Anne Lamott explained that she kept an empty one-inch picture frame on her desk as a reminder to focus on small details: “The river at sunrise, or the young child swimming in the pool at the club, or the first time the man sees the woman he will marry.” Cocktail is filled with this type of telling observation.

Throughout Lisa Alward’s debut story collection, deceptively unassuming items — an old robin’s nest, a baby cardigan, a cigarette butt, a pot of hyacinths — prompt a diverse cast of characters to reflect on events that have changed their lives. Their contemplations take readers across times and places in Canada, from 1960s Saint John and 1980s Halifax to modern-day Montreal. Alward’s sure-footed writing ably steers readers through stories about injuries, marriages, new...