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- Short stories - |
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What Salmon Know: Stories |
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 What Salmon Know: Stories byElwood Reid Doubleday 206 pages, 1999 ISBN 0385491212 Reviewed by Devorah Stone As a woman, I have always felt men are the mysterious sex, but less of a mystery now after reading this book of short stories. Reid explores the psyche of men who live alone or divorced, or who have never had a woman they didn't pay for. These are men with little formal education, living on the fringes of society, trying to scrape by and make some sense of their lives. They work in factories, farms, home repair, gyms, low -end baseball teams and the Alaskan wilderness. Drew is one of the most economically successful of the men in this anthology. In the story entitled Overtime, Drew, a foreman in a factory, asks a well-liked family man to work overtime. This decision leads to a string of tragic and unforeseeable events and Drew 's own downfall. In Happy Jack, Jack Lammarr, a YWCA self-defense teacher, lies his way to obtain the coveted job. Surrounded by temptation, he unsuccessfully represses his urges, often pretending to be a rapist in his classes, allowing women to spill their rage and fears. The situation becomes increasingly unbearable when Dianne, a married woman who flirts with him, particularly tempts him. This is a man’s story in a woman's world. Dryfall chronicles Ben's life from childhood with his alcoholic father to his life as a farm hand and a house painter. Written in the first person, the author illustrates the life of a good man weighed down by family and bad luck. Ben helps his mother then his older brother through hard work and loyalty. In the end, hard work remains his only true companion. If you like happy endings about cheerful successful people, What Salmon Know is not for you. This anthology is about the lives of men who barely survive financially and emotionally. Reid paints a grim picture of a society indifferent to those who live on the fringes, through no fault of their own. Eight of the ten stories are written in the first person, creating a strong emotional impact. Each story is a heart-wrenching journey into a man's soul. |
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