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H. Nigel Thomas. How Loud Can the Village Cock Crow? and Other Stories. St. Laurent, Quebec. Afo. 1995. viii + 124 pages. Can$12.95. ISBN 0-920933-07-6.
Just a year ago Spirits in the Dark, Nigel Thomas's first novel, was published by a major company after having been issued initially by a small house; it was a finalist in Canada's prestigious Hugh MacLennan Fiction Award contest and has since achieved widespread commendation. Now, with the appearance of the collection of ten short stories How Loud Can the Village Cock Crow?, Thomas's reputation as a West Indian Canadian fictionist will undoubtedly be enhanced.
The locale for most of the stories is Isabella Island, assuredly a pseudonym for St. Vincent, Thomas's native homeland, and in all there is a keen sense of place, a...