The narrator of Fake ID is a young lesbian woman of Asian descent, and she lives in Canada where she finds herself to be the Other in more ways than one. So unsurprisingly, perhaps, these short pieces describe and reflect on life in North America from the vantage point, somewhat, of an outsider looking on.

Mariko Tamaki's experience as a stand-up comedienne stands her in good stead for this, her second volume of short tales. She skillfully brings the reader into the action of each new story right from the start, and then she expands her theme in conversational manner before segueing seamlessly into some point of reflectiveness. The tale Diary of a Broom Girl, for instance, opens with the narrator sweeping out a huge and dusty warehouse in preparation for a performance by an opera company. It continues into an account of her being nicknamed "Broom Girl" by one of her coworkers, and ends off with a rather triumphant meditation on political strategy.

Sometimes the stories are sadder and are resolved less satisfyingly, like one entitled E. Rigby, which is an account of a grandmother's descent into Alzheimer's disease:

"Last week we were in a restaurant and she told me she was all alone. Imagine, at a restaurant, surrounded by her family."
(p. 61)

Mostly, the tales are droll, self-deprecating, and rather ironic. They are littered with bits of delicious commentary that Mariko slides unobtrusively into the text—gems like this description of a geeky young woman in the story, Four Run Down a Hill:

"She's probably the only person ... our age, who loves poetry but doesn't write it, only reads it."
(p. 105)

Last but in no way at all least, I must mention the busy cartoon by Mariko's cousin, Jillian Tamaki, that adorns the cover of the book. It is an absorbing people-watching sort of piece that is a very apt complement to the content of the volume it prefaces.

Google "Moira Richards" to find links to her essays on Women Abuse, her reviews of woman-authored books as well as to other writing and editing work she does for various print and e-publications. She can often be found lounging about the staff rooms of womenwriters.net, absolutewrite.com and moondance.org - usually sipping tea, sometimes Jack Daniels.
Off-line, she teaches accounting and other numberly subjects to students at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa. And writes a poem or two.

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