Stray Dogs: And Other Stories by Rawi Hage

Author:Rawi Hage [Hage, Rawi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Short Stories (Single Author), Literary, Psychological
ISBN: 9780735273627
Google: eoSTEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Knopf Canada
Published: 2022-03-01T08:00:00+00:00

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Anatol Adamczyk spent a year in Linz, and once he’d received his immigration papers, he left Austria for Winnipeg, Canada. Upon his arrival in that country, he started looking for work; but he had very little money and was quickly broke. Jobless, he stood on the street corner beside a grand hotel, laid his old hat on the ground, and started to sing and dance. He soon slipped on a patch of ice and sprained his wrist. The hotel doorman rushed over to help him, and through charm and good humour, Anatol quickly befriended the man and other staff who crowded round, and was soon hired as a bellboy, concealing his injury even though the pain was excruciating. He worked hard, using only his good arm, until, one day, catching his injured wrist on a door, he yelped in pain and was taken to hospital. There he met Ewa, a tall, beautiful woman also of Polish descent who worked part-time as a receptionist. She became his wife.

After the wedding, Anatol and Ewa decided to move to Montreal to live as two pseudo-French lovers, lost in a Nordic-style Francophonie, imitating film noir scenes, puffing smoke and playing sentimental French songs. Ewa began studying for a literature degree, and Anatol would make her laugh by pretending to be a baguette walking through the snow, slipping on the ice in dramatic style as he once had outside the hotel in Winnipeg. Their pursuit of an idyll—to spend their days in the manner of existentialists, drinking, smoking and engaging in ceaseless lovemaking—was challenging in their boxy little apartment, their lives financed only by small, occasional jobs. Her dream was to finish her degree and become a writer, and his was to return to film school and become a cinematographer.

In time, their dreams stalled. Eventually, Ewa landed a part-time job at a kindergarten, and Anatol began working as an assistant to a wedding photographer named Mike Gold, founder and sole owner of Gold Studios Inc.

Anatol’s role was seasonal at first, and mostly involved weekends. But as Gold Studios Inc. grew, he was assigned more responsibilities, becoming the second photographer at the increasingly high-end studio. The clientele was wealthy, the weddings extravagant, sometimes even obscene in their untold expense and baroque settings. Anatol, with his photographic talent and his exuberant personality, excelled in his role. His connection to people was natural, playful and entertaining. His extravagant accent, his tall and genial presence, his combination of clownishness and courteous politesse extracted joy and laughter from every wedding party. He could appease dissatisfied mothers-in-law and make brides forget their aching ankles. He sang traditional tunes and even, on occasion, executed perfect pirouettes, camera in hand. He took off his shoes and stood on chairs, angling his camera down upon open smiles. In sumptuous hotel suites, he would hop from one piece of furniture to another, changing positions and perspectives. He toasted everyone, helped with the flowers, favourably appraised hairstyles, and took photos of the happy couple in bedrooms and bathrooms, on rooftops and balconies.

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