The Doctrine of Affections

By Paul Headrick

A poverty-stricken guitar virtuoso navigates the political landscape of nineteenth-century Parisian society as he comes out of retirement for one final concert. A sessional instructor competing for the prestigious Interdisciplinary Chair in Aretha Franklin studies gets sidetracked by her obsession with a mysterious student in a yellow hat. A dying doo-wop DJ and his wife try to bridge the estrangement wrought by illness as they travel in search of the horns, drums, and vocals of highlife. In the eleven stories that make up The Doctrine of Affections, Paul Headrick takes us on a fascinating journey into the heart of music. From the perfectly honed decrescendo of a symphony’s string section to the down-home chord progressions at a late-night kitchen party, Headrick’s stories question the subtle differences between hearing and listening, and communicating and understanding. The subjects of this collection are soloists, ensemble players, scholars, collectors, and lovers of music, but their experiences with risk, religion, relief, and often regret make their stories resonate for readers who are hearing their songs for the first time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Freehand Books
• Release date: Apr 9, 2010
• ISBN: 9781770480384

Paul Headrick

Paul Headrick completed an MA in Creative Writing at Concordia University, and a PhD in English Literature at York University. His first novel, That Tune Clutches My Heart (Gaspereau Press), was published in 2008 and was shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize (BC Book Awards). He is also the author of a textbook, A Method for Writing Essays about Literature (Nelson Education). Paul currently lives in Vancouver, where he teaches English Literature and Creative Writing at Langara College.

Reviews for The Doctrine of Affections

[icolford · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This collection of short fiction from the author of the novel The Tune that Clutches My Heart (2008) is a stellar example of the form. All of the stories in The Doctrine of Affections are connected in some manner to music, and Headrick's characters are mostly either practitioners or enthusiasts. But music is not necessarily where the stories begin or end. The amazing thing about these stories is the way Headrick consistently uses music as a means to get inside his characters and peel back the layers concealing their longings and vulnerabilities. These characters do a lot of thinking and talking about music. In most cases the plot is constructed around a musical endeavour or event. For the reader, these thoughts, discussions and performances provide insight into lives that are richly multifaceted. These are expertly constructed, well written and straightforward narratives, except perhaps for the last story, "Imagine Me and You, I Do," which dabbles with a metafictional construct that is not entirely successful. But overall Headrick's collection will satisfy and reward an adventurous reader looking for something off the beaten track.