Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – MostlyFiction Book Reviews We Love to Read! Sat, 28 Oct 2017 19:51:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.18 AMERICANAH by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie /2014/americanah-by-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/ Sat, 15 Mar 2014 14:43:29 +0000 /?p=25941 Book Quote:

“And she had ignored, too, the cement in her soul. Her blog was doing well, with thousands of unique visitors each month, and she was earning good speaking fees, and she had a fellowship at Princeton and a relationship with Blaine—“ You are the absolute love of my life,” he’d written in her last birthday card— and yet there was cement in her soul. It had been there for a while, an early morning disease of fatigue, a bleakness and borderlessness. It brought with it amorphous longings, shapeless desires, brief imaginary glints of other lives she could be living, that over the months melded into a piercing homesickness.”

Book Review:

Review by Bonnie Brody  (MAR 15, 2014)

Americanah is a wonderful epic saga of love, hair, blogs, racism in America, and life in Nigeria. It takes place over a period of about 15 years and is primarily about a Nigerian woman named Ifemelu and her first love, Obinze. The meaning of the word Americanah is a person who returns to Nigeria after spending time abroad.

The main part of the story takes place in a hair salon in Trenton, New Jersey. Ifemelu is on a fellowship at Princeton and the nearest place to get weaves is in Trenton. As she is getting her hair done she goes back in time and the reader gets filled in with her life story.

Ifemelu grew up in poverty in Lagos. She managed to go to university there and won a scholarship to Wellson, a college in Philadelphia. She struggles with money and finds it very difficult to get a job. When she does work, she sends money back home to her parents. Ifemulu’s primary job is as a nanny. She describes the dynamics of her employer’s marriage as “she loves him and he loves himself.” She is introduced to her employer’s cousin Curt and Ifemelu and he have a relationship for quite a while. His being white and rich cause some difficulties for them.

Ifemelu cuts off all contact with Obinze despite the fact that they had planned to be together. She had made a choice to do something that left her shamed and abased and she is unable to tell Obinze about it. So, rather than tell him, she severs their contact. He is distraught and does not know what to do. He continues to write to her for months but there is no answer from Ifemelu.

Meanwhile, Obinze goes to London where he lives underground after his six month visa expires. He is working construction and continues to do this until he is deported back to Nigeria.

Ifemelu remains in the United States for 13 years and has a series of relationships with different men. Of significance besides Curt, who is white, is Blaine who is African American and a professor at Yale. Theirs is a long-term relationship that Ifemelu breaks off in order to return to Lagos.

Ifemelu has started a blog called “Raceteenth: Understanding America for the non-American black.” She writes anonymously about varied topics of racism that she encounters in the United States and the differences between being African American and a non-American black person. Her blog is very successful and brings her status and money as people make financial contributions to keep the blog going. She also does speaking engagements about topics she covers in her blog.

The book has many characters in it, each of whom we come to know and connect with. However, it is primarily about Ifemelu and Obinze, their lives and love. I found the book fascinating and very readable. It does not ever let go of the messages that the author seeks to provide the reader. Racism is a constant theme in the book as is life in America for black Americans and non-American blacks. I found the theme of blogging as a way to share knowledge very intriguing. Actual blogs are a part of the book.

Adiche is a wonderful writer. Her short stories, all of which I’ve read, have knocked me out. I plan on reading her other novels. I can see why this brilliant woman has received a MacArthur Genius Award.   Highly recommended

AMAZON READER RATING: from 511 readers
PUBLISHER: Anchor; Reprint edition (March 4, 2014)
REVIEWER: Bonnie Brody
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:
EXTRAS: Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our review of:

Bibliography:

]]> THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2011 edited by Geraldine Brooks /2011/the-best-american-short-stories-2011-edited-by-geraldine-brooks/ Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:41:23 +0000 /?p=21446 Book Quote:

“Daddy hadn’t meant to hurt her, she knew. Even Momma believed this, which was why she hadn’t called 911. And when the doctor at the ER had asked Lisette how her face had got so bruised, her nose and eye socket broken, she’d said that it was an accident on the stairs – she’ been running and she’d fallen.”

Book Review:

Review by Bonnie Brody  (OCT 5, 2011)

This year’s editor of The Best American Short Stories 2011 is Geraldine Brooks, an accomplished journalist and fiction writer. She says of her selections “that the easiest and the first choices were the stories to which I had a physical response.” I would agree that the best stories in this collection are those that are most visceral and physical in nature. Ms. Brooks also states that “In the end, the stories I fell upon with perhaps the greatest delight were the outliers, the handful or so that defied the overwhelming gravitational pull toward small-canvas contemporary realism.”

There are twenty stories in this alphabetically arranged collection. About half of them swept me away and the other half didn’t move me as much as I’d hoped they would. Each year, I look forward to this collection with much anticipation and excitement. This year’s collection felt a bit below par in consistency and quality.

I agree with Ms. Brooks that the best stories in this collection are those to which I had a physical response. They tended towards themes of violence and/or grief. One such story is by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In “Ceiling,” she writes about a man who realizes he is in the wrong life. He feels lassitude in his marriage which is superficial and without depth. He yearns for his college sweetheart who he’s built up in his mind as perfect. As Ms. Brooks states, this story “perfectly captures the yearning spirit of a man who has settled for the wrong wife, the wrong life, in the stultifying salons of Lagos’s corrupt upper class.”

In “Housewifely Arts” by Megan Mayhew Bergman, a single mother drives nine hours to visit her dead mother’s parrot because the parrot is so perfectly able to mimic her mother’s voice. The parrot has more of her mother inside her than the daughter does.

Nathan Englander’s story, “Free Fruit for Young Widows,” opens with a violent act and continues with acts of violence. The story examines the roots of violence as it explores the possibilities and rationales that make violence an appropriate act. Part tale of vengeance and part philosophy, the reader puzzles the situations as does the young son whose father is telling him the story.

Allegra Goodman’s “La Vita Nuova” is a haunting story of grief. A woman who is a children’s art teacher is left by her fiancé. She brings her wedding dress to school and lets her students paint all over it. The story is about the depths of grief and loss.

“Soldier of Fortune” by Bret Anthony Johnston tells about Josh, a high school freshman who is in love with his neighbor Holly, a senior. When Holly’s three year-old brother accidentally gets severely scalded by boiling water and the family has to spend weeks at the hospital, Josh takes care of their home and dog. He grows up during this pivotal time.

In “Peter Torrelli, Falling Apart,” by Rebecca Makai, a man and his friend, Peter, have known each other since high school. Both are gay and they initially bonded over that commonality. Peter was beautiful and charismatic and went on to become an actor. At one of his performances he has a meltdown and can’t work again. His friend gives his all to Peter getting nothing in return. The reader wonders why his friend would risk so much for Peter.

Joyce Carol Oates, in “ID,” tells about Lisette, an eighth-grader who is recovering from a shattered eye socket and broken nose incurred by a beating from her estranged father. Lisette lives with her mother, a black jack dealer in Atlantic City. Lisette’s mother has been gone for several days, leaving Lisette alone with no idea of when she’ll be back or where she went. The police appear at her school and ask her to ID a corpse that they think might be her mother.

George Saunders writes about prisoners who are used in an experiment where they are given psychoactive drugs that take them to the deepest recesses of their souls. “Escape from Spiderland” is about these prisoners, the experiment, and the feelings of ultimate love, eloquence and sexuality that these drugs render. The prisoners can be brought to the depths of despair and the height of exaltation and then returned to their baselines in a few seconds.

Overall, there are some very good stories in this collection and some that are just mediocre. The ones that stand out are definitely the ones that feel like a visceral gut punch and that pound on the reader’s psyche. Ms. Brooks did not want “small-canvas contemporary realism” but sometimes it is the small canvas that shows the most detail and beauty. One just needs to look at it from the right angle.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-4-0from 18 readers
PUBLISHER: Mariner Books (October 4, 2011)
REVIEWER: Bonnie Brody
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Best American Short Stories
EXTRAS: Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our review of:

Our reviews of some of Geraldine Brooks’ novels:

Partial Bibliography:

]]> THE THING AROUND YOUR NECK by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie /2010/the-thing-around-your-neck-by-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/ Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:37:57 +0000 /?p=11367 Book Quote:

“Her son had been killed, that was all she would say.  Killed. Nothing about how his laughter started somehow above his head, high and tinkly.  How he called sweets ‘breadie-breadie.’  How he grasped her neck tight when she held him. How her husband said that he would be an artist because he didn’t try to build with his LEGO blocks but instead he arranged them, side by side, alternating colors. They did not deserve to know.”

Book Review:

Review by Bonnie Brody (AUG 29, 2010)

A collection of short stories is one of my favorite genres for reading. It is rare to find a book of short stories that is consistent in quality. When I do, it is a rare gift. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s The Thing Around Your Neck is just such a gift. It consists of stories about Nigeria and the United States, focusing on the clash of cultures and the cultural misunderstandings and prejudices that the protagonists face. This book also includes the short story that I consider my all-time favorite – “The Headstrong Historian.” I read it for the third time in this collection. I first read it in The New Yorker, then in the Pen/O’Henry Prize Stories of 2010. It gets better each time I read it.

“The Headstrong Historian” takes us to Nigeria where we meet Ngwambe. She is a woman who believes in the culture of her tribe but is also strong enough to stand up against it if necessary. Ngwambe “is a strong-willed woman hemmed in by custom and circumstance, whose beloved son betrays her in an unimaginable way.” Nqwambe is widowed early and grieves the loss of her beloved husband. Despite her son’s betrayal, the betrayal of her husband’s brothers, and her search for ways to keep her culture alive during a time when colonization and “Christianizing the heathens” is booming, Ngwambe carries on. This story speaks to the strength of marital and inter-generational love and the power of a strong woman.

“A Private Experience” focuses on the clash between science and the old ways.  A retired professor of mathematics has not received his retirement pension in over three years due to government corruption.  While on campus to check once again to see if his pension monies have arrived, he runs into a man who may or may not be a ghost.  They discuss the Biafran war of 1970.  The professor thinks about his beloved wife who died a few years ago and who visits him regularly, more in the dry season than during the rainy one.  The professor lives in two worlds, the world of mathematics and science and in the old belief system of his people.

“On Monday of Last Week” is about Kamara, an educated African worker who comes to the United States to be reunited with her boyfriend after six years apart. Things are awkward between them.  Kamara takes a job as a childcare worker.  Her boyfriend’s mother is an artist, an elusive and spectral figure.  Once Kamara meets her, she asks Kamara about nude modeling.  Kamara gives this careful thought and when she returns to the house she says yes, thinking this is a special offer just for her.  However, it is a seductive come-on, used for most women who enter the house. Kamara feels heartbreak and shame.

The title story, “The Thing Around Your Neck” is an extraordinarily beautiful tale about an Igbu girl from Lagos who wins a Visa to the United States “where everyone has a house, a car and a gun.”  She goes to live with her aunt and uncle but leaves because her uncle makes inappropriate sexual advances towards her. As an excuse for his behavior, he tells her that the U.S. is a place of give and take.  She ends up in Connecticut, bitter and perspicaciously observant of American culture.  She sends money to her family but not letters.  The thing around her neck is tight when she tries to sleep but loosens once she’s in a relationship with a college boy.  The clash of cultures and the loneliness that comes on its tail is painful to read about.

In “The American Embassy,” a woman has lost her son to soldiers as a result of her journalist husband’s anti-government article.  She is waiting in line at the U.S. embassy to seek political asylum in the U.S.  While in line, she reminisces about her marriage, her son, and the events leading to her son’s death.  When it finally comes time for her to be interviewed by a U.S. embassy employee, she is unable to recount the political events leading up to her son’s death.  She feels she would be using her son’s death to her own advantage.  Towards the end of the interview, she turns around and walks out.

The book contains twelve stories, all top-notch and all dealing with the convergence of cultures, usually the United States and Nigeria.  Adiche writes so beautifully that I can not read her stories just once.  Painful though they are, I can see myself reading them again and again.  She gets the human predicament, especially the predicament of the poor, those with no options, and the contradictions between old beliefs and new ones.  She is also able to see the false beliefs that people take on when they think they are acculturated or part of the larger society.  She knows they are still outside looking in, and always will be.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-4-5from 55 readers
PUBLISHER: Anchor; 1 edition (June 1, 2010)
REVIEWER: Bonnie Brody
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:
EXTRAS:
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our review of:

Bibliography:

]]> PURPLE HIBISCUS by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie /2010/purple-hibiscus-by-chimananda-ngozi-adichie/ Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:24:36 +0000 /?p=11466 Book Quote:

“I sat at my bedroom window after I changed; the cashew tree was so close I could reach out and pluck a leaf if it were not for the silver-coloured crisscross of mosquito netting. The bell-shaped yellow fruits hung lazily, drawing buzzing bees that bumped against my window’s netting.”

Book Review:

Review by Vesna McMaster (AUG 29, 2010)

From the first few pages this novel leaves no room for doubt as to how the narrative will unfold: the struggle of the “outside” and more natural world against that of domestic oppression and enforced sterility. As the book opens with a domestic crisis which overwhelms the narrator in its almost silent enormity, she retreats to her room.

The netting in the above quote is the perfect simile for the walls and boundaries, real and invisible, which surround the narrator. Whom do they keep out, and whom do they keep in? In an instant, we know from this passage alone that although they may keep the mosquitoes out, they also enforce a separation between the narrator and the leaves and bees: a separation decidedly unwelcome.

I found it extraordinary that the message was so clarion, as both the novel’s physical setting (post-coup Nigeria) and spiritual setting (stringently Catholic) are subjects I am personally completely unfamiliar with. I felt I ought to be reading the book with a full-scale guidebook to Africa, so laden is it with unknown phrases and concepts, scents, sounds and sights. It is proof of the superb writing that the unfamiliar and the unknown are in no way alienating, but entirely tantalising in a heady, spicy, dusty mix, making the uninitiated want to touch, taste and feel what the words set before us.

The narrator is Kambili Achike, a girl born to a wealthy family headed by her despotic and sadistic father, Eugene. Her fellow sufferers within the house walls are her mother Beatrice and her brother Jaja. Eugene is well respected within the community: he donates money to churches and the poor, he runs a politically subversive newspaper at tangible physical danger to himself and is seen as no less than a hero. At home he enforces his will on the inmates of the house without a chink of mercy, and with the help of torture and battery at regular intervals.

When the two children manage to escape from the immediate clutches of the household for a short while to Eugene’s sister, Aunty Ifeoma’s residence, the wheels of change start to turn. Ifeoma’s household is an almost pantomime foil to Eugene’s; they are poor but liberated, they have fun. Once they have put the initial chips into the glass coating that keeps the children from admitting their abuse to anyone (including themselves, mostly), there is no return and Eugene’s family starts to disintegrate.

While the physical world and settings may be unfamiliar to many readers, the central core of sadistic domestic abuse and subjugation transcends all cultural boundaries in its immediacy and intimacy. The psychological bullying from her father produces palpable physical effects on the narrator – she develops a fever in response to a crisis, or her legs feel “loose-jointed.”  When she gleans some approval, the joy and relief are also physically palpable: her mouth feels “full of melting sugar;” the abused’s gratitude for sops of “kindness’ shown to them by their abusers. The problems of the nuclear family are mirrored in the larger world, with the omnipotent bullies in power invading every waking and sleeping moment of their subjects, exerting almost complete control.

There is no doubt that in reaching an international audience, Adichie is acutely aware that many of her readers will be as unfamiliar with the Nigerian element (which is the core of the book) as I am. By an impasto technique with the symbolism and parallels, Adichie counters this problem by explaining the state within the country with reference to the domestic situation.

Both nature and the social structure join forces in elucidation. The sadistic “Papa” is the drying, dust-covering Harmattan wind, the (typically female) positive forces have moisture-laden imagery – again, juxtaposing sterility and fertility. This is a central theme both in the family life and at the State level. The narrator’s mother faces possible divorce and destitution for producing insufficient children, but the fault of this lies with her husband Eugene and his physical battering of his ever-pregnant wife.

One aspect that has been noted to be omni-present in this book is the prevalence of food. Its smells, textures, preparation, effect, quality, quantity, power, implications; some readers find it overwhelming. This insistence is directly tied to the sterility/fertility male/female theme. In Eugene’s wealthy household, food is plentiful and good, but there is no contact with the preparation of it, no knowledge of where it comes from. By contrast in the poor household of Aunt Ifeoma, food is scarce and takes a lot of time and effort both to procure and prepare, but appears to be relished more. (No prizes for guessing which is portrayed as the happier state). Most importantly, the enforced separation which the narrator has endured at home from the “womanly” dealing with food is shown as a type of disabling, a condition that debilitates, a sort of castration of abilities. Learning about food empowers the narrator much more than merely to the extent of being handy in the kitchen. It is as if her whole outlook on life changes (albeit incrementally) by learning how to peel a vegetable properly. In peeling it, she learns how to peel herself, to remove the casing to just the right degree.

This brings us back to the walls and boundaries we started off with. The uncrossable boundaries of the family life are admitting to the tyranny and abuse that is being inflicted. The narrator and her brother “speak with their eyes” to each other, as they dare not speak otherwise. As the status quo in the household starts to dissolve under the influence of external forces like Aunty Ifoema and Father Amadi, this method of communication becomes jammed, blocked. The change that heralds this blockage is one for the positive, but it involves great pain. The implication is that this pain cannot be avoided, nor will it ever be eradicated.

Here, we are taken back to the implied view on Nigerian politics Adichie is making. Kambili is not the only protagonist forced to embrace change. When the inspirational Aunty Ifeoma herself is targeted as a trouble-maker by the University authorities, she is extremely reluctant to leave the country which she loves but which tortures her, in favour of an alien one that will offer relative sanctuary from persecution. The argument is mooted in the household: if all the brains leave, who’s going to pick up the pieces? For this, there is no answer.

It perfectly mirrors the escape from tyranny on the domestic level. From the conclusions drawn there, one can only assume that the author sees this situation as inevitable. In the aftermath of the ultimate domestic collapse, the erstwhile victimised members of the family attempt to rebuild a life. They have however been permanently “expelled” from the state they had known hereto, and their efforts are uncoordinated and wandering. The lasting blame which lands on all of them, but particularly the mother (who has possibly been shown to have suffered the most) is drawn with such absolute precision that it is impossible to sidestep the implication that the wronged commoners will nevertheless carry the burden of their oppressors with them wherever they go. Through the telescope of the immediate and intimate, Adichie elucidates the political and cultural situation for outsiders.

But it seems that she has portrayed the abuser only too convincingly for some readers. Many reviewers opine that Eugene is “not all bad” and that the family’s love for him is “genuine.” In fact, the overwhelming majority of reviewers suggest that poor Eugene, he’s got terrible faults but he means well, bless him. This is both a frightening testament to how household bullies get away with what they do, and a homage to Adichie’s skill in portraying the process. Perhaps also it is a more reassuring reflection that the average reader is thankfully shielded from acute domestic violence, physical and psychological. Any “love” the abuser appears to show to his victims is self-directed, his good deeds in political and economic circles are all salves to his own background of abused childhood and repressed impulses. The abuser cannot see his family (and by extension, anyone who comes within his field of power) as anything but reflections and facets of himself. They have no rights or individual standing in his view, and as he forces his own view onto his victims, his view becomes theirs. This is not to say that Eugene does not suffer for his misdeeds: the disfiguring rash that keeps coming up is like a reflection of the myriad wrongs he has inflicted, which no amount of dabbing away with money will erase – and his body knows it, even if he doesn’t.

But by the very process that she has created to explain the Nigerian situation, is seems Adichie might have overdone herself. The excuses which so many readers see in Eugene’s behaviour make the politicians by implication less culpable, and the love of their subjects less conditional. I am sure Adichie’s message is that patriotic love should be conditional, and if the relationship between state and citizen turns abusive then those conditions should be enforced, even if the citizens feel pain and regret at the process.

In a final reinforcement of the parallel, Kambili’s hidden talent which emerges towards the end of the narrative turns out to be:  running. The symbolism is not veiled. From a domestic situation like hers, the best one can do is run, as fast as possible. Perhaps this is what the writer feels is the ultimate fate of the Nigerian people.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-4-5from 202 readers
PUBLISHER: Anchor (September 14, 2004)
REVIEWER: Vesna McMaster
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:
EXTRAS: Reading Guide and Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our review of:

Bibliography:

]]> PEN/O’HENRY PRIZE STORIES 2010 edited by Laura Furman /2010/penohenry-prize-stories-2010-edited-by-laura-furman/ Tue, 20 Apr 2010 04:13:23 +0000 /?p=8975 Book Quote:

“For the reader, the short story is nothing less than a brief and intense residence in another world.”

Book Review:

Review by Bonnie Brody (APR 19, 2010)

This year’s Pen/O’Henry Prize Stories 2010 offers an eclectic collection of wonderful writing. The series is edited by Laura Furman and this year’s judges are Junot Diaz, Paula Fox and Yiyun Li. The stories range from narratives that describe a richness of blessings to the barrenness of empty lives. Some stories offer exhilaration that turns to bleakness, while in others the turn of events is the reverse. The stories take place around the globe and throughout the United States. What they have in common is that for a short while the reader is immersed in the intimacy of a narrative that takes us into other lives and places.

The collection opens up with a story by one of my favorite writers, Annie Proulx. Entitled “Them Old Cowboy Songs,” this story begins in 1885 in the American west. Archie, aged 16, and Rose, aged 14, are in love and marry. All is bliss at first. Archie inherits a little bit of money from his surrogate mother and purchases some acreage. Archie and Rose both work hard. In time, Rose becomes pregnant and Archie goes off to seek paying work in another state as there are no jobs nearby. In this story, the cataclysmic impact of the elements are at war with the American dream of success. That one is able to survive at all is miraculous.

“The Headstrong Historian” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, takes us to Nigeria where we meet Ngwambe. She is a woman who believes in the culture of her tribe but is also strong enough to stand up against it if necessary. Ngwambe “is a strong-willed woman hemmed in by custom and circumstance, whose beloved son betrays her in an unimaginable way.”  This story speaks to the strength of inter-generational love and the power of a strong woman.

I found myself riveted by the initial barrenness and heartbreak of Brad Watson’s “Visitation.” It is the story of an absentee father with visitation rights to see his son every three weeks. Each visit is the same. As he drives up and down I-95 in Los Angeles, we can imagine the strangers passing in the night, many going nowhere or going somewhere they don’t want to be. Loomis, the dad, always takes his son to the same run-down hotel and has trouble communicating with his boy. Loomis is a man of despair, suffering from depression most of his life. He’s tried medication, counseling and insight but he’s basically a person of hopelessness. Through the intervention of a strange family of gypsies, Loomis and his son are brought closer to one another.

Yiyun Li’s favorite is William Trevor‘s story, “The Woman of the House.” This story takes place in Ireland and starts out with Martina driving a very old Dodge that may or may not get her to her destination. Martina is a woman of no means and even her looks, which she has marketed in the past, are going. She takes care of a crippled man who may be her cousin. This man drinks and torments her. All she has for herself is a small can of money that she’s acquired from cheating the man and selling herself. One day two outsiders, men from Eastern Europe, are hired to paint the house. They, too, have nothing. What the characters in this story share is ambiguity, limited means, and not much hope for change in the future.

“A Spoiled Man” by Daniyal Mueenuddin was selected by Junot Diaz as his favorite story in this book. It is easy to see why. The story is beautiful, powerful and does not have a spare word. It is the story of Rezak, a man who has a portable house that he carries with him from job to job. The house is large enough to sit in but too small to stand in. He ends up getting a job outside of Islamabad, taking care of an orchard for a Pakistani man and his American wife, Sonya. The couple spoil him by paying him more money than he’s ever made in his life. We watch as he is set up for failure and tragedy by his circumstances while there is nothing that he can do to prevent his downfall.

Ron Rash’s story, ‘”Into the Gorge,” is exciting and compelling. We view the way that people lived for generations in Appalachia and how this has all been changed by the Park Service. Not only have things changed, but much is now illegal and dangerous. One man tries to keep to his heritage and he runs into trouble with the law. No matter what he chooses to do, one man is too small to fight an army of bureaucrats and armed police.

No contemporary short story collection would be complete without at least one story by Alice Munro. Her story, “Some Women” is included here and it does not disappoint. It starts out with the line, “I am amazed sometimes to think how old I am,” and ends with the line, “I grew up, and old.”  The story is about a young girl who has a summer job taking care of a young man who has leukemia. An emotional power war ensues between women seeking his attentions and affections. The girl watches it happening and as an adult realizes all she has learned and observed about life in her many years on this planet.

Short stories are gifts. They give us the ability to be completely within the scope of their narrative for the whole time. We can immerse ourselves in the characters, the environment, and the story. Good short stories are like gems – – they are precious and rare. Laura Furman has done a great job mining the literary journals to select the stories in this collection. It is one of the best in this series that I have read in several years.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-3-5from 4 readers
PUBLISHER: Anchor; Original edition (April 20, 2010)
REVIEWER: Bonnie Brody
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? Not Yet
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Laura Furman
EXTRAS: Editor’s Notes and other information on this prize
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Another short story collection:The Story Behind the Story edited by Peter Turchi and Andrea Barrett

Previous Story Collections in this series:

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