Small Bites

If I Loved You, I would Tell You This by Robin Black

This short story collection took the author eight years to complete, in part, because she did not set out to do a collection. She wrote each story to stand on its own and they do. But they are also linked by the different aspects of love and loss – from a painter doing a portrait of a man afflicted by Alzheimer’s while mourning the death of her lover to a father, hesitating, when getting a guide dog for his seventeen year old daughter, knowing that he will have to let her go. I found the best and most moving story was Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. The title is taken from the traditional rhyme about Henry the VIII’s various wives. The story is about coping with loss of a brother, a friend when you are young and the helplessness of parents. It really hit home. This is a good, solid collection of stories.

The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson

I loved Jannsson’s The Summer Book so I was looking forward to reading another novel by her. I cannot say I was disappointed because the two books are so different in story they are almost incomparable. While there was a sense of loss in The Summer Book, it was very light, “summer-filled”. The True Deceiver is far darker and much more unnerving. The writing is incredible especially in the descriptions of winter but I had a hard time latching on to the characters (I realize that this is the way Jannson wanted it). The True Deceiver is about the lies we tell ourselves and the lies we tell each other – from small, social convenience lies to large ones. It is about about being an outcast. Katri is the villiage outcast who lives with her simple brother and a dog with no name. Anna is a well-respected author and reclusive member of the village. The book outlines the relationship between these two women and the conflict between their very different ideals.

The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen

The Last Town on Earth is about the Spanish Flu Epidemic in 1918 and its effect on a small logging town in the Pacific Northwest. The town of Commonwealth votes to quarantine itself in hopes of keeping the disease at bay.  The town sets guards and all is well until a tired solider comes up the road and shots are fired. The story of the various inhabitants, from mill owner, to his adopted son, to the different mill workers, and the town doctor, are intertwined into a cohesive whole. Mullen uses the story to talk about the unionizing efforts, the war and its effect on the citizens of the US, as well as medicine at the time at the cusp of old-age and new understanding. I listened to this book on audio and I think I would have preferred to read it. The narration was good but it was hard to give the book the attention it deserved. It was also a book that got better after my book group talked about it which is one reason I appreciate bookish discussion. The talk brought out nuances that I hadn’t thought of.

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