The Palace Thief

The stories in this collection universally feature a pairing of men with different temperaments. While the external relationship between the men is one of comradeship and collaboration, their interpersonal dynamic is a fight for supremacy. Considering the stories take place in the decades that comprise the Cold War, this is a clear allusion to the conflict. Just as the United States and the USSR were fighting for influence using varied and sophisticated tactics rather than outright military confrontation, the men in Canin’s stories are engaged in a perennial contest of one-upmanship and undermining.

In a collection where the Heraclitan prophesy that “character is fate” (105) is referenced in every story, all the protagonists are nominally aware of an established hierarchy and the domains that they occupy. Roth knows that his hard work may be admirable, but it pales in comparison to Peters’s wealth and status. William knows he is the reliable, communicative child, while his brother Clive is the strange, unapproachable genius. Wilson grudgingly accepts that he is of an old, outdated generation, while his son, Brent, is of the new. Finally, Hundert knows that he is simply the educator of powerful men, rather than a man of significance.