When Candas Jane Dorsey says “vanilla” she’s not talking about ice cream. She’s referring to sex, of the plain and straightforward variety, and she’s pushing her readers to think about other, less predictable ways of “doing it.” Rather than titillating and erotic, however, “Vanilla” and many of the Other Stories in this collection are better described as provocative and disquieting. They defy boundaries, as the author blurs distinctions between male and female, straight and gay, and fantasy and reality in a decidedly postmodern way.

The collection includes stories from the past 24 years of her career, but despite her longevity, Dorsey – an editor and writer in Edmonton – is not a household name. Much of her fiction focuses on marginalized characters and their particular struggles: a depressed lesbian, a man sexually abused as a boy who slices his skin in order to deal with his pain, drag queens with stage fright, and closeted men and women in relationships of convenience. Many of Dorsey’s characters and situations may seem contrived and calculated to shock, but they’re ultimately believable. Dorsey poses questions about what is normal and conventional, and does so convincingly through simple dialogue and psychological insight into her characters.

Among these tales of sex and gender, though, are a number of radically different stories. These are subtle pieces about Prairie lives in which illness, aging, dying, and thwarted dreams are the principal themes. Ironically, perhaps, these are the most memorable stories in the book, where we understand characters through their relationships to their surroundings rather than on the basis of what they desire sexually. When Dorsey relies less on sensationalism to carry a story, her writing becomes more sophisticated and engaging.