Tag: L'Esprit Literary Review

Story Reviews

Point of no return. Commentary on Brigid Swanick’s “Little White Lies”

Pauline Shen

What happens when you lean-in to heartache? When you take the bitterness and wrap it around yourself like a cloak? When you harness sadness as a means to grab attention from others rather than explore within for true fulfilment? Brigid Swanick’s “Little White Lies” examines the process and outcome of a character who chooses just that. “Their questions and concerns, their desire to help me,” says our narrator-protagonist, “their intense focus entirely on me made me obsessed, made me visible in a world that was otherwise indifferent.”

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Story Reviews

Home is a Lifetime Away. Commentary on Taylor Thornburg’s “Come On, Come On, Come On”

Pauline Shen

Meet Jonah, an elderly man who decides to take a stroll, sit on a park bench, and then make his way home. But what is home, anyways? Is it something clearly defined? How do you know when you’ve recognized it? In Taylor Thornburg’s “Come On, Come On, Come On,” when is the key word indeed. Jonah searches, “…in the windows. They reflected an unfamiliar figure. Jonah had white hair and a crooked posture. His reflection had thick brown hair and stood upright. Bewildered, Jonah did not notice his reflection.” Juxtaposition signals a tangle of memories that flood Jonah’s mind and pull the reader’s attention in multiple directions.

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Story Reviews

Sinning Under Pressure. A Commentary on Leigh Rastivo’s “One Time in Hell”

Pauline Shen

Those who were raised Catholic and endured catechism as a child may recognize the setting. A series of primary graders are waiting, “in a long line of wee sinners—the queue looped twice round the nave and aisles of our church.” However, readers who do not have similar memories to draw upon can still empathize with the inter- and intra-personal struggles presented here vis-à-vis our protagonist, eight year old Mary Faith Dennison. In this fictional tale, Leigh Rastivo writes the story through Mary’s eyes, giving the audience the full run-down of her thoughts, worries, and obsessions. What she reveals is the breakdown of communication between adults and children—especially in areas that matter most. Sound familiar? Disconnect between fellow humans is indeed a universal theme. And a poignant one at that.

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