October 2023 MBR The Literary Fiction Shelf

The Literary Fiction Shelf

No Use Pretending
Thomas A. Dodson
University of Iowa Press
www.uiowapress.org
9781609389178, $19.00, PB, 172pp

https://www.amazon.com/Pretending-Iowa-Short-Fiction-Award/dp/1609389174

Synopsis: The characters in the short stories that comprise "No Use Pretending" by Thomas A. Doson have been forced into conditions of life that they find unbearable, and the stories chart their often tragically misguided attempts to relieve their suffering via connections with other people or through the pursuit of addictive attachments (to opiates in one story, to sleep in another).

This inherently fascinating collection encompasses diverse genres, from ecologically informed realism to a Kafkaesque fairy tale, from fabulist "weird fiction" to an episode from The Odyssey that becomes a meditation on what distinguishes human beings from animals. These stories invite the reader to reconsider moral and ideological certainties, to take a fresh look at such issues as fracking and drone warfare.

In one story, a petroleum engineer discovers that one of his wastewater wells may be causing earthquakes, and in another the pilot of an Air Force drone seeks to reconcile his conflicting roles as protector and executioner, husband and soldier. The scientist and the serviceman are both presented with problems that have no easy or obvious solutions, situations that force them to confront the messy, compromising complexity of being human.

Critique: With impressive literary excellence and eloquence, the eleven short stories comprising the Thomas A. Dodson anthology, "No Use Pretending", are a compelling, memorable, and deftly crafted read. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Contemporary Literary Fictions & Short Story collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "No Use Pretending" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Thomas A. Dodson (https://thomasadodson.com/about-thomas) is an assistant professor and librarian at Southern Oregon University.

She's A Killer
Kirsten McDougall
Gallic Books
www.gallicbooks.com
9781913547653, $18.95, HC,

https://www.amazon.com/Shes-a-Killer/dp/1913547655

Synopsis: ALICE: 30-something, IQ of 159 (almost a genius), only communicates with her mother in Morse code. -- And her imaginary friend is back.

ERIKA: 15, daughter of hot 'wealthugee' who loves Russian literature, is genuine genius, appreciates killer eyeliner and possess killer instincts.

The climate is in crisis and wealthy immigrants are flocking to New Zealand for shelter, stealing land, driving up food prices and taking over. But Alice has far more important things to worry about: hating her best friend's husband, getting free wine and quiet-quitting her dull day job. Until she meets Erika.

Now, Alice is about to find herself drawn into action of the most radical (and dangerous) kind. Just what is a slacker to do?

Critique: Original, iconoclastic, bold, brilliant, bizarre, and a compulsive page turner of a read from start to finish, "She's a Killer" is a unique and very special satirical dystopian thriller. While highly recommended for community, college, and university library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "She's a Killer" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.49).

Editorial Note: Kirsten McDougall (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_McDougall) is a New Zealand novelist, short story writer and creative writing lecturer. She has published three novels, and won the 2021 Sunday Star-Times short story competition.

Beautiful Shining People
Michael Grothaus
Orenda Books
https://orendabooks.co.uk
Isis Audio Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781914585647, $16.99, PB, 276pp

https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Shining-People-Michael-Grothaus/dp/191458564X

Synopsis: It's our world, but decades into the future it is anything but ordinary, and it's about to change forever

It's an ordinary world of the foreseeable future where cars drive themselves, drones glide across the sky, and robots work in burger shops. There are two superpowers and a digital Cold War, but all conflicts are safely oceans away. People get up, work, and have dinner. Everything is as it should be.

Except for seventeen-year-old young man named John -- a tech prodigy from a damaged family, who hides a deeply personal secret. But everything starts to change for him when he enters a tiny cafe on a cold Tokyo night. A cafe run by a disgraced sumo wrestler, where a peculiar dog with a spherical head lives, alongside its owner, enigmatic waitress Neotnia.

But Neotnia hides a secret of her own -- a secret that will turn John's unhappy life upside down. A secret that will take them from the neon streets of Tokyo to Hiroshima's tragic past to the snowy mountains of Nagano. A secret that reveals that this world is anything ordinary and that it is about to change forever!

Critique: Distinctively original, deftly written, singularly memorable, as well as being of special interest to dedicated fans of science fiction stories and historical thrillers raised to the stellar level of High Literature, "Beautiful Shining People" by talented novelist Michael Grothaus is especially and unreservedly recommended for community and academic library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Beautiful Shining People" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.15) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Isis Audio Books, 9781399148795, $122.95, CD)

Editorial Note: Michael Grothaus (https://www.michaelgrothaus.com) is a novelist, journalist and author of non-fiction. His writing has appeared in Fast Company, VICE, The Guardian, Litro Magazine, The Irish Times, Screen, Quartz and others. His debut novel, Epiphany Jones, is a story about sex trafficking among the Hollywood elite and was longlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and named one of the 25 'Most Irresistible Hollywood Novels' by Entertainment Weekly.

What Makes You Think You're Supposed to Feel Better: Stories
Jody Hobbs Hesler
Cornerstone Press
9781960329073, $24.95, PB, 236pp

https://www.amazon.com/Makes-Think-Youre-Supposed-Better/dp/1960329073

Synopsis: The grisly death of the hermit outsider in a tight-knit neighborhood prompts a young mom to yearn for solitude. A man wrestles with regrets from a 30-year-old affair while his wife hovers toward death in the ICU. An older, childless woman aches to rescue the seemingly mistreated child she observes in the grocery store. And a girl's desire to avoid the party her father dragged her to nearly gets her abducted.

Told with restraint and deep compassion against the backdrop of Virginia back streets and small towns, "What Makes You Think You're Supposed to Feel Better: Stories" by Jody Hobbs Hesler is her debut short story collection and simply shines with its stellar portraits of longing, disconnection, and the ache for renewal and redemption that comes from our own frailties.

Critique: Eloquent, articulate, original, memorable, deftly crafted, "What Makes You Think You're Supposed to Feel Better: Stories" by author Jody Hobbs Hesler is a literary treat throughout and a welcome and highly recommended pick for personal reading lists, as well as community and academic library Contemporary Literary & Short Story collections.

Editorial Note: Jody Hobbs Hesler (https://www.jodyhobbshesler.com) has written ever since she could hold a pencil and now lives and writes in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her stories and other work have appeared in Los Angeles Review, Valparaiso Fiction Review, Necessary Fiction, CRAFT, Pithead Chapel, and elsewhere. Growing up, she split time between suburban Richmond, Virginia, and the mountains outside Winchester, Virginia. Experiences of all three regions flavor her writing. She teaches at WriterHouse in Charlottesville, Virginia, and reads for The Los Angeles Review. Her debut novel, Without You Here, is currently scheduled for release in November 2024.

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