Series: No
Pages: 212
Copyright: 2013
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Buy: Amazon
Summary: from Amazon
Rebecca Lee, one of our most gifted and original short story writers, guides readers into a range of landscapes, both foreign and domestic, crafting stories as rich as novels. A student plagiarizes a paper and holds fast to her alibi until she finds herself complicit in the resurrection of one professor's shadowy past. A dinner party becomes the occasion for the dissolution of more than one marriage. A woman is hired to find a wife for the one true soulmate she's ever found. In all, Rebecca Lee traverses the terrain of infidelity, obligation, sacrifice, jealousy, and yet finally, optimism. Showing people at their most vulnerable, Lee creates characters so wonderfully flawed, so driven by their desire, so compelled to make sense of their human condition, that it's impossible not to feel for them when their fragile belief in romantic love, domestic bliss, or academic seclusion fails to provide them with the sort of force field they'd expected.
Feelings:
Let me start by saying while this book is highly recommended, had my doubts from the start. Bobcats don't have tails and this one does. The back cover made me dislike the author and designer a little for not knowing more about bobcats and placing this image with a tail on the cover. I know this is just a fictional cat and not a real one, but it still bothered me. This led me to dislike the book a little from the start. I'm not sure why the stories were in the order they were in, but I felt like the weakest stories were at the beginning of this collection. I liked Min best of all the stories in the collection. All the stories had some connection to a university setting which was interesting. These were not the type of story I would generally enjoy reading. They show the darker side of life, and I prefer to focus on the happy parts.
Bobcat:
The first story in the collection is about a dinner party in which marriage is questioned and not everything is how it seems. Yes, there is a bobcat in the story, but it seems to be more metaphorical than real. The story was well written, but I didn't really feel that I wanted to spend time with the characters in the story nor was there a redeeming character whom made me like the story. The story did have a twist at the end I wasn't expecting. This was another of those life sucks stories.
The Banks of The Vistula:
A student wants to be noticed and different so she plagiarizes a paper. This story was a bit more interesting than the first story in the collection. I still felt that the story was a little bit flat, and I wasn't really connected to any of the characters. Life will disappoint you, was the feeling I got from it.
Slatland:
A young girl struggles with depression and goes to see a professor who specializes in child psychology. As a adult she sees the professor again and wonders about the technique he used for helping see the bigger perspective. The story was a bit odd, but I enjoyed it. I would not have wanted to spend anymore time with the characters than the short story length, but I found it interesting.
Min:
I think this might have been my favorite story in the collection. A young man invites his best friend Sarah back to Hong Kong after they graduate from college. She is given the job of reviewing applications for his future wife. The story also looks at immigrants and the politics of housing refugees from Vietnam. Following Sarah through her time in Hong Kong and her struggle with finding a woman she feels will be right for Min was engaging.
World Party:
A professor on a discipline committee at the University examines another professor, Stuart Applebaum's involvement as the leader of a protest group on campus. The story has a bit of a nostalgic review of past events, because of little facts that come from the future. It added an interesting quality to the story.
Fialta:
An architect student takes a spot as an apprentice at Fialta, and is attracted to one of the other apprentices. However, there is a rule of no dating and this becomes the central conflict of the story. The story was a bit long and slow at times but it held my interest.
Settlers:
The last story takes a look at friendship and relationships over time and the way we imagine things that aren't always what they seem to be. The ending of the story had a finality that felt right for concluding the collection of stories. This wasn't my favorite in the collection but it was an interesting story in that the University setting was the least obvious.
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