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| November Storm
ISBN: 9781609384524
Platform/Publisher: Project MUSE / University of Iowa Press
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Chapters; Download: Chapters
Subjects: FICTION / Short Stories (single author).; Change (Psychology); Life change events;
Oldshue's debut collection, winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award, finds consistent success in its depictions of intimate relationships. In the title story, inclement weather throws an elderly couple's frailty and isolation into sharp relief, rekindling their appreciation for each other. The narrator of the "The Receiving Line" describes the men he sleeps with-some of whom pay him for it-and concentrates on a client trying to sort out his sexuality. "Mass Mental" explores psychiatrist William Welker's feelings toward his colleagues, his patients, his romantic partners, and, of course, himself. "Summer Friend," a standout, follows the pedigreed Alice Link and the plucky Louise Screery from their girlhood meeting at the fishing spot their families frequent to the brink of old age, revealing their complex, deep affection through their bond with the bright but unfocused Barney McAlister. Alice, Lou, and Barney, like all of Oldshue's characters, immediately engage the reader's empathy as they navigate "the awkward facts people of long acquaintance have to step around." Most of the stories take place in and around Boston, though three of the nine are set on the same street in Irondequoit, N.Y. Oldshue's sturdy prose and potent, understated endings will satisfy fans of the classic short story. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
When he isn't writing, Robert Oldshue practices family medicine at a community health center in Boston. He holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College, and his work has appeared in the Bellevue Literary Review , the Gettysburg Review , and New England Review . He is married and has two children. |
