3.5 stars

This is a book of short stories, all of which are set on the Canadian Prairies, mostly on farms run by Mennonite families.

I enjoyed this more than most short story collections. The first couple weren't as interesting to me, but they got better, I thought. I loved that one later story brought me up to date on the characters from one of the earlier stories. My dad's family is Mennonite, so of the Mennonite references, I mostly just caught the food, but that was kind of fun for me, too. I also recognized some of the little German/Mennonite towns in Saskatchewan, as it was where Dad grew up. ( )

This is a collection of short stories focusing on the struggles of family and the conflict between the Mennonite farm life and city life. Many are harrowing in their bleakness, their firm no-nonsense approach to life, and the scars left. ( )

Darcie Friesen Hossack is another new author that I’ve discovered through the Ontario Library Association’s Evergreen list. I don’t often read short-story collections, but I greatly enjoyed this one, which gives us glimpses into the lives of Mennonites living on Canada’s prairies. I was impressed by how much Hossack drew me into each story after only a few paragraphs.

These are not particularly happy stories. A number of the characters suffer from depression or anxiety, and several stories deal with the tension between the older generation attempting to maintain the traditional way of life and the younger members trying to find their place in a modern society. At the same time, the stories celebrate lovingly the simple joys in life, like the smell of freshly baked bread. Hossack’s stories give us insight into Mennonite customs and traditions but they also show that their hopes, fears and concerns are not all that different from those of anyone else. ( )

Mennonite' s Don't Dance is book of short stories by Darcie Friesen Hossack, which was shortlisted for the Regional 2011 Commonwealth prize. She is a Canadian author, and this is her debut.
Mennonites Don't Dance is a deeply affecting book about grace, forgiveness, anger, patriarchal systems, heartbreak -I have felt so many emotions while reading this book. I think it helps to have some sort of Mennonite background - or some knowledge of what the religion is -but I think that the short stories transcend those who are Mennonite. This is more a story of humanity and the forces and emotions that affect us all. The author is very gifted - she is not sentimental - she just tells the story and leaves us to judge or think for ourselves. Sandra Birdsell - a prominent literary writer in Canada taught this author creative writing at Humber colllege and also endorses her book. It was a 4.5 star read and I very much enjoyed it - and even shed a few tears. ( )