𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉.

This collection begins with 𝑆𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒, where an arts professor in New York is disenchanted with the younger generation of artists. She thinks of them as ‘dabblers’ who aren’t passionate about honing their skills, for without a big following like her younger colleagues who have gallery shows in New York City, she is unable to instruct the more serious students she desires to educate. Her style of painting is out of fashion, worse, with the demands of her life she hasn’t been as prolific in her career as she wanted to be. Did she settle after tenure? She is getting older, and the art she sees the younger generation produce turns her off. They seem to want it all to be so easy. The people the students admire are hardly able to produce anything beyond ‘squiggles and blobs’ and know nothing of technique. Her frustration grows when she procures stuffed pheasants for her intermediate students to draw. I liked this, it’s quiet but the offense Alice takes at the changing times, it’s something most people will feel at a point in their life, when you feel cut off from popular culture.

In 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔, a brush with tragedy leads to small fame for a maid and a chance for to get out of her small town, leaving her younger sister surprised to be the one left behind. A twelve-year-old blind and partially deaf raccoon is meant to be a lesson in kindness and compassion for students in 𝑅𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑅𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑛, an idea middle school teacher Ms. Gardner thinks is pointless. She has witnessed far too much cruelty and meanness to imagine even a furry creature piercing their cold hearts. Will it work? 𝑉𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 is about Margaret’s new roommate at college. She isn’t thrilled by Hayley, someone far more extroverted than she is, too open and friendly. Over Thanksgiving weekend Margaret goes home, Hayley decides to go camping in the Adirondacks, what follows is a shocking terror and a lucky escape from danger, it also stretches their thin bond even further, until Margaret feels abandoned. She was just beginning to think they could become friends, was finally making an effort.

𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝐷𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑑 is my favorite story, so ugly is the behavior and yet so typical when a girl feels threated by the shine of another. Why are girls mean to each other, well sometimes it’s as simple as loyalty and long standing friendship. It’s a phase some never outgrow, but most do, thankfully. The tales are about ordinary people, how they cope with life or hide from it, even if it’s with mountains of junk in their home and birds, or behind their cynicism. I felt the author was pointing out how thoughtlessly we put people through tar and feathering with all the ‘self-help’ type of shows as well as the shallowness of the series that aim to find love. Can we deny they are often trashy and dehumanizing? Well written stories about imperfect people, I would love to read a novel by Karin-Lin Greenburg. She writes about people who could actually exist, whose paths are a natural trajectory most of us confront. As for her teenage characters, they aren’t ridiculously maniacal but do behave as children who are trying to fit in and figure out who they are. Good stuff.

Publication Date: September 1, 2022

University of Nebraska Press

A somewhat optimistic look at potentially sad or un-fun circumstances. This is a pretty good collection of stories. I liked the writing style, and look forward to the author's future work.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Just a little slow and unbelievable at some points. As with all short story complications some were a lot better than others. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a collection on loss and losing. As with most short story collections, some are more poignant than others, but I found this to be a thought-provoking look at how we cope with our suffering when something we cherish no longer exists. Done with humor and wit, it was an enjoyable read.