The Comedians

This is a very interesting collection of short stories by John L'Heureux. I believe that the crux of this book can be summed up in his statement as follows: "And to that history, which he cannot alter, he brings his own mystical belief: that from all this suffering there must eventually come some kind of redemption". Suffering and redemption play a large thematic role in this collection. Of note, are the following stories: 1) Comedian: A Stand-up comic becomes pregnant with a baby who sings but will be born dumb. This is a poignantly beautiful story. 2) The Expert on God: A priest doubts the existence of love and God. Yet, through faith, he tries to conjure love. 3) A Gift: What makes a real person - his true goodness or his meanness of spirit. 4) Father: An artist disappears into his painting. Again, the question arises, what is real? 5) Rejoice and Be Glad: A woman dying of uterine cancer tries to make a deal with herself. Her hope is to assign more meaning to the ending of her life. 6) The Terrible Mirror: A Novella: An artist and his wife live lives neither balanced nor synchronous, yet intertwined.