Where the Rocks Say Your Name

Where the Rocks say Your Name
by Brenda Hasiuk
Published by Thistledown Press
Review by Elizabeth McGill
$19.95 ISBN-13: 978-1-897235-11-9

The concept of Where the Rocks Say Your Name is similar to reality television, but the format is different. Instead of being “made for television”, this reality situation is “made for print”. Brenda Hasuik takes us into a northern mining town where existence is as sharp-edged as the craggy rocks punctuating the rugged landscape.

We are immersed in the lives of three young residents: Toby, who like his father, plunges into the mine shaft to make his living; Ally, who is her mother’s assistant in the bulk food store; and Rina, whose family left war-torn Sarajevo to set up a medical practice in a seemingly safer environment, but where less obvious dangers lurk. The three main characters of Where the Rocks say Your Name are young people whose lifestyles involve partying, hanging out at the pool hall, and having sex, not to be confused with “making love.” Life is fairly straightforward if not wildly exciting until Adam arrives in town. He hides out at his cousin, Ally’s house, in the hopes that the police will not catch up with him. That’s when things get complicated.

This is Hasiuk’s first novel but several of her stories have been published in literary journals. She does not shy away from difficult situations. Readers from the baby boomer era may be gulping for air or raising their eyebrows and blood pressure as the story unfolds. This story could take place in any little town where services and opportunities for recreation are few. People always find a way to amuse themselves. If you enjoy a thought provoking , compellingly honest account of another lifestyle, pick up Where the Rocks say Your Name. You’ll be glad you did.

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