That Savage Water

That Savage Water is a striking collection of stories about travels abroad, told in language that is rich in description, full of lucid and lively textures, smells and sensations that transports the reader to places not on the average itinerary. From familiar departure lounges on to foreign cities steeped in history, the enticing turquoise beaches of picture-perfect postcards, the desolate mountain ranges that take one well off the beaten track, bathing in the sacred Ganges, and fringe indulgences in Cambodian brothels – and a return to a northern Canadian cabin where the father of a tsunami victim contemplates how a surge of savage water forever changed the lives of so many, most poignantly, his own.

Matthew R. Loney of Toronto is an avid traveller, and found added inspiration for this collection in the shared stories of backpackers as well as from the venture books he was reading at the time: Hemingway, Orwell, Greene, Tim O’Brian, Alex Garland. His stories have appeared in a range of North American publications including Fernwood’s anthology of political short fiction Everything Is So Political, Clark-Nova’s anthology Writing Without Direction: 10 1/2 short stories by Canadian authors under 30 and Exiles’ Carter V. Cooper Short Fiction Anthology Books Three and Four. He recently published in India and Hong Kong.