Net Worth

A woman wins a fabulous lottery; a frustrated middle-age man waits for his wealthy father to die; an unemployed father and widower struggles to earn a living wage; an older man of means has an affair with a much younger woman; a privileged but harassed suburban woman and a homeless man meet in a subway station: each story, built upon familiar motifs, leads into the core of the characters sense of who they are. The narrative drama arises from what they face and how they live during their present circumstances. For the readers, the stories transform the ordinary, which many have felt themselves, into a new dimension of experience. 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. Net Worth continues Radus tradition of well-crafted and necessary stories.