The Porcupine's Quill

Walking home alone in the dark on a residential street in Southern Ontario, the illuminated windows of the kitchens and living rooms give glimpses into worlds that are not my own, but could be. I can’t help but glance at each one as I walk past, and though I can only see one solitary scene in the lives of these people, for a split second I’m connected to them. Not because our homes look anything alike, not because I recognize the people inside, but because we are human and we are alive now, together. Reading Morse Code For Romantics is just that, a street of vignettes illuminated just enough to remind the reader that there is meaning in the mundane and behind every interaction there is a web of complicated emotion and history that has led to this moment. And just as that web reveals itself to the reader, just as they begin to appreciate the intricacies of the lives they are peering into, the story ends, and the reader walks on to the next house, the next window, the next story. 

This collection is empathetic in a way that I find so many literary stories fall short. In “Last Summer,” Lucy, a kindergarten teacher in her thirties, romanticizes her college days—“Opaline eyelids. Rhinestone earrings. Nail polish with sparkly chips.” Baldo weaves a tight, beautifully written story that speaks to every person who has ever asked themselves, “Is this my life now?” Several of my favourite lines from the collection are in this story. Among them: “it is sheer necessity that drives the promiscuity of humming birds.” Ugh, the shiny, flitting imagery is just too good in this one. 

The exploration of class in Morse Code For Romantics is complicated and rich (no pun intended). “Marrying Dewitt West” is one of my favourite examples of this. Dewitt West is pretentious yet naive, a stark difference between the humble and covertly wise Nora, a resident of the tiny Canadian town that Dewitt, the American amateur naturalist, is visiting in his search for lake monsters. Dewitt diminishes everything that Nora does and wears because of her class and lack of education. This story was such a satisfying read, and one that I’ll be coming back to again and again. 

When I recommend this book, and I recommend it to everyone, I suggest reading one story per night, letting the bitter-sweetness melt on your tongue and haunt your taste buds like a square of dark chocolate before bed. That is how the stories in Morse Code For Romantics should be savoured, slowly with time to mourn each carefully crafted character after you close the pages and close your eyes.