Deborah Ellis,
Lunch With Lenin and Other Stories
Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2008.

Rating:  E*

Deborah Ellis dedicates her new short story collection Lunch with Lenin, “To those who struggle to make their way.” Although the title suggests a connection to Russian history, all of the stories examine the complex world of teenage relationships and the impact of drug culture on various young adults in countries around the world. Not all of the stories focus on drug-related activities. In fact, in some of the stories such as Another Night in Disneyland, the protagonist struggles with her new environment in remote Hay River.While babysitting, she sees a drug deal. The real focus of the story is on adapting to change.

In other stories, drugs play a more important role. In Through the Woods, the fourteen-year old hero buys marijuana in the school library - for his ailing grandmother. In The Dark Side of Nixon, Brandon suffers from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and is constantly bullied at school. One day, bullies leave him holding a bag of marijuana as the police arrive! In Lunch with Lenin, sixteen-year old Valerin is abandoned by his mother in Red Square as a child. Will he start taking heroin while he struggles to survive? In Boot, the female protagonist is serving time in a boot camp. She discovers that there is more to life than alcohol, partying and drugs! Pascal, a student at the prestigious cathedral school in Bolivia, sees the devastation of an entire community of drug addicts in The Cactus People.

In other stories, Ellis explores issues of the production and distribution of drugs.  In Pretty Flowers, Tahmina’s Afghan family is growing opium when officials arrive to bulldoze their fields. What price will she have to pay for her family’s survival? Ramon sells packets of shaboo in Manila in the story Dancing, with Beads. Prodigal explores the relationship between two sisters, Kelly and her sister Shannon who is returning from a stay in drug rehab. On the other side of the world in Mongolia, fourteen-year old homeless Liko discovers a stash of drugs when he robs a tourist in Red Hero at Midnight.

Deborah Ellis has written a marvelous collection of ten short stories presenting realistic and relevant problems to teenage readers. Her stories show how courageous individuals make difficult choices in a confusing and often dangerous world. One of the most powerful messages in the entire collection of stories is found in the words of Ms. Greer, a history teacher, “Stories… That’s really all we leave behind us. Good stories and bad stories. Sometimes, we get to choose.” (p. 147) Teenage readers will definitely choose these stories.

Thematic Links: Drugs; Alcohol; Addiction; Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; Homelessness; Rehabilitation; Family Relationships; Poverty; Global Economics; Responsibility for Choices

Myra Junyk
Vol.14, number 2
December 2008

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.