The prairie wind breathes across the pages of Currie’s 11 stories, set in Saskatchewan. All deal with aspects of life that have left indelible impressions on the main characters. Several are reminiscences from times past, and more than one deals with hockey.

In “Chemistry,” a how-I-met-my-wife story, a young woman tells her suitor that she’ll date him when hell freezes over. As an avid hockey fan, for her the equivalent to hell freezing over is for the Bentley brothers, Doug and Max, superstar hockey heroes of the 1950s, to play together again. How the spurned young man arranges for this impossibility to take place is so cleverly handled that “Chemistry” would make an excellent television movie.

One of the most enjoyable stories in the collection is “Thank you, Jane Mansfield,” in which a young Saskatchewan boy holidaying in LA gets a kiss and an autograph from the blonde movie star shortly before her death. Forty years later memories of that exquisite moment help the narrator start his life anew after a long period of grieving over his wife’s death.

“The Mighty Atom” deals with a beleaguered high school teacher whose life suddenly seems worthwhile when he discovers his morning paper is being happily delivered by an elderly, former NHL star.

“How I Became a Poet,” the most humorous story by far, features a group of misfits from the Fort San Writers Colony who enter a bizarre softball team in a local tournament.

Though at times Currie strives too hard for meaning, he has an excellent eye for detail, the writing is clear, the characters are well delineated, and in each tale an event occurs that forever changes people’s lives.