Hugh Hood has been called Canada's foremost writer of short stories, and this book—the first complete critical work on Hood's short stories—illustrates why he is the master craftsman of this genre. Hood has always insisted that his short-story collections should be treated as a unity—as if each story were a chapter of a novel. In this book, the author accepts Hood's challenge, and shows how his six collections to date are carefully arranged in relation to a guiding theme. As Copoloff-Mechanic shows, the stories in each of the collections are carefully interconnected to illuminate the details of Canadian life in terms of a universal, timeless drama.

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Susan Copoloff-Mechanic lives in Montreal.

“This book is an interesting and informative analysis of the thematic structures of Hugh Hood's six short-story collections.”  —Letters in Canada

“This book is an interesting and informative analysis of the thematic structures of Hugh Hood's six short-story collections. The readings are clear and informative.”  —University of Toronto Quarterly

“Pilgrim's Progress succeeds by pointing the reader in the right directions to travel towards a fuller understanding of Hood's short stories.”  —Canadian Book Review Annual