The short stories in Alison Acheson’s Learning to Live Indoors deal with family relationships. Acheson, who lives in British Columbia, has previously published two young adult novels, one of which was short-listed for several awards. But although this collection is full of domestic detail, there is nothing cozy about the stories.

For example, the aftermath of death is a central concern. In the title story, the death of a baby means a slow death-in-life for the parents as they withdraw to the safety of indoors. “Louis and Me” is about two old men, responsible for the upkeep of a memorial to fallen war comrades, and about a tragic event that is a response to the forgetfulness of a new generation. But what should be poignant moments somehow leave the reader unaffected.

Paradoxically, two stories that deal with less earth-shattering situations are more emotionally charged. They are both set in hairdressing salons. In “Cutting,” tension builds in a small family when a smooth-talking man joins the staff. The salon’s proprietress becomes concerned for the safety of her daughter – and for herself. Meanwhile, the smooth talker’s teenage son begins apprenticing in the hair trade. He also learns a few tips on survival, the most important of which is to disengage himself from his exploitative father. “Quitting Finn” is set in a more upscale salon where an aging, flamboyant gay man is bent on leaving his place of longtime employment. It’s a study in love-hate relationships, where small cruelties are as satisfying as endearments. Both of these stories, in their physical detail and depiction of workplace interaction, are as precisely and skillfully executed as a good haircut.

Less successful stories are “Somebody’s Steed,” about an aging lesbian couple, and “Something Blue,” in which a woman is resigned to a life alone until her bird feeding enterprise unites her with the man in the next apartment. Both stories are portrayed with a heavy hand and verge on the sentimental.