What a good idea: compile brief, true travel narratives from a selection of well-known and up-and-coming Canadian novelists, poets, editors, and journalists. With AWOL, editors Jennifer Barclay and Amy Logan have outdone themselves. Their selections for this delightful compilation are strong and consistent. The narratives span the world, from Burma to Trinidad, Iceland to South Africa. North America is overrepresented, of course, with 11 of the 34 entries – many of these the best in the collection – occurring on the continent.

The best pieces demonstrate the virtues of short fiction: compelling characters, prudent pacing, occasional humour, and an interesting plot. Scott Gardiner’s “My First Brothel” is one of the strongest here in all departments. Gardiner’s stopgap stint selling “fast ein Wunder” cleaning products door-to-door in Germany is vivid, funny, and captivating. Similarly, Andrew Pyper’s “A Brazilian Notebook” spins poignant, amusing anecdotes in an unwavering voice.

Other stories excel when they venture into the absurd or grotesque. In “Two Days in Dallas,” author Charles Wilkins stays with Bob, a 370-pound animal trainer and trucker, his wife Rose, their small herd of chihuahuas, and their precariously caged Bengal tiger. Wilkins sleeps in the cab of a banana truck (next to the tiger cage, naturally) bordering an unfenced alligator reserve. The dialogue is sharp, the characters unforgettable, the story, just plain weird.

Common themes connect many of the stories. Travellers are resented by locals, most often for their presumed wealth, a phenomenon portrayed vividly in Gillian Meiklem’s “A Lesson in Dance.” Many of the writers try to leap the tourist/traveler divide, but geography, customs, local prejudice, and language (doubly agonizing for the writer) so often impede. There is home, after all, and there is away. The stories do not shy from the fear, awkwardness, and discomfort that accompany travel, nor do they withhold the joy and wisdom being away from home can bring.