There is nothing like that crisp new fiction smell. A debut author finally getting their words into print is always exciting. Sure there is always the possibility that the new author’s style and tone might not translate into great reading for you, but taking a chance is half the fun. A great way to minimize the risk of getting a dud is to check out debut short story collections. Short stories are (surprise, surprise) brief so it takes less time to find out if one is not to your taste. Also, there is no harm in simply skipping one story in a collection if it isn’t working for you. If you are up to the challenge, here are three debut short story collections that are definitely worth your limited reading time.
Dog Run Moon by Callan Wink
All of the tales in this great collection have a strong sense of place, the American West (Montana and Wyoming for the most part), and a quirky sense of humor. Most of the hardscrabble characters have seen better days, but they continue to play the cards life has dealt them in determined and unique ways. Standout stories include: “One More Last Stand” which follows a Little Bighorn reenactor, playing Custer of course, whose marriage is slowly falling apart. “Exotics” the story of a teacher in Montana who takes a summer job working at a cattle ranch in Texas to get away from it all. The best of the bunch “Dog Run Moon” opens with an early morning chase scene involving a nude construction worker, the dog he ‘liberated’, and the vengeful owner on his ATV.
Inherited Disorders: Stories, Parables &Problems by Adam Ehrlich Sachs
The stories in this collection all share the same topic: the ‘special relationship’ between fathers and sons. Normally I would avoid this type of collection like the plague, worrying that the stories would be schmaltzy and filled with Hallmark card-worthy resolutions, but this book breaks the mold. The stories are all pleasingly short, from a few pages to a paragraph, and are basically hilarious parables. The tone is hard to describe so why not just enjoy this fine example:
Dead Language
Linguists last year were overjoyed to discover two living speakers, a father and son, of a Finnic language long believed to be extinct. The father lived in North Karelia, the son in South Karelia. Both agreed to be flown to Helsinki to have a conversation observed and recorded by a consortium of eighty linguists in the hope of preserving the language. But the conversation was so stilted, so perfunctory, so silence-ridden and self-conscious that afterward the eighty linguists declared the language, for all intents and purposes, extinct. This is said to be the first time a language has ever been declared extinct while there are still people alive who speak it.
If nothing else, you now have the perfect gift for Father’s day.
The Brink by Austin Bunn
The stories in this collection vary widely in topic, setting, and character with the author clearly not afraid to take a chance and experiment. The good news is that the stories do not feel like creative writing exercises. Instead Bunn is a master at capturing a moment in time, no matter how fantastic, and conveying the feeling of it convincingly. And oh what moments in time they are. “How to Win an Unwinnable War” follows a teenager who enthusiastically volunteers to take a summer course on thermonuclear war to get away from being at home and watching his parents’ marriage fall apart. “Griefer” tells the tale of an online role-playing game as is it is about to be shut down, through the eyes of a devotee who can’t seem to let go. “Ledge” finds the crew of a 15th century Spanish galleon discovering the actual end of the earth, and the disturbing fact of what lies over that edge.
So there you have it. Three brand spankin’ new short story collections. Now get out there and read.
Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library.
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