ADRIANA SCIOLI
Carleigh Baker, LAST WOMAN
Toronto: Penguin Random House Canada. $24.95
Last Woman by Carleigh Baker is a collection of short fiction that tears through the superficial crust of many of our world’s social constructions. In these stories, Baker delves into the effects of colonialism, our collective loss of humanity, the significance of companionship, the destruction of our planet, and the politics of social hierarchy, all of which she weaves into an overarching exploration of how people survive, and even thrive, in contemporary society.
There is a thoughtfulness in these stories that showcases Baker’s witty humour and careful social commentary equally; she uses fiction to closely compare and juxtapose real-world issues in a way that encourages readers to critically examine the influences on, and purposes of, her writing. Last Woman is layered with deep and thoughtful irony that calls on readers to re-evaluate their instinctual and habitual life choices by challenging the chronic discourse of superficial engagement to which we are increasingly conditioned through online and social media.
As a woman of nêhiyaw âpihtawikosisân/Icelandic culture, Baker writes from a culturally charged position, exploring the complexities of existing across a variety of—often conflicting—cultures and worlds. In the very first story, “Midwives,” two contemporary Indigenous women struggle to portage a canoe as readers gain insight to the narrator’s sense of cultural imposter syndrome: “We should be carrying the canoe over our heads but it’s too damn heavy. That’s what the guys do. That’s what the old-timey Voyageurs were doing in the artist renderings I googled before the trip. Convincing myself that I must have some kind of blood connection to the land, even though I come from the city.” It is the speaker’s cultural anxiety that fuels her fear that the internet knows more about how to portage a canoe than she does, and that growing up in the city instead of a reserve has perhaps dissolved a portion of her Indigenous identity. This first story sets the tone for a collection rife with insecurity, emotional sensitivity, and humour, populated by survivors, billionaires, loners, and empaths. Importantly, though, Baker’s prose consistently brings her various communities to the centre of her stories by supporting and validating them through her writing.
Picking up on the theme of insecurity, “Alphas” is a story about a young woman who experiences a night of anxious self-reflection and social awkwardness at her boyfriend’s DJ gig. Here, Baker skilfully writes about the systemic obsession of comparison culture in female relationships and the intensified internal misogyny that we see on social media platforms today. The story imposes the influx of thoughts that can over-take an insecure woman’s consciousness when she feels threatened by another woman, and it explores the unhealthy attitudes women can have toward other women as a result: “This alpha who just came in is so beautiful the light sharpens around her like an Instagram filter. She’s definitely in a band, maybe two bands, and she’s her hairdresser’s favourite client.” Baker’s writing embodies a very realistic thought process and defensiveness that can rise in women who don’t like to make room for other women in some communal spaces. In stories like this Baker’s fiction is able to confront the toxic impulses and tendencies that can structure our relationships. “Alphas” raises an important discussion about the assumptions that are made about women by women who consciously or unconsciously project feelings of self-hatred. In this way and others, this collection can get close to a reader’s deepest vulnerabilities and make them reflect on how their own complicity in and contribution to oppressive systems can continue to uphold the toxic structures of our world.
Baker has written this collection for our world’s worriers, survivors, and independent dreamers. Last Woman is a well-rounded work of fiction that is as insightful as it is entertaining. It takes strong writing, intelligence, and creativity to evoke and inspire critical thinking through fiction, and the range of stories in this collection allows readers to explore and create several connections to characters with whom they will relate whether they want to admit it or not. While it may feel exhausting to pick up a book that so convincingly reflects our own insecurities and highlights our world’s injustices, the wit and grace of the writing reminds us that it’s important to never stop reading, learning, and trying if we hope to make any changes to our world at all.
ADRIANA SCIOLI
(she/her) is in her fourth year of the Honours BA of Creative Writing & Publishing at Sheridan College; has a passion for writing essays, short stories, and op-eds; and has made her publication debut in The Familiars. She loves watching Hollywood classics such as 12 Angry Men, Funny Girl, and Singin’ in The Rain. In her spare time, you can find her sewing, reading in a café, thrifting, or listening to her favourite music while on a hike.