Tag: Literary story review

Story Reviews

Desensitization. Commentary on Deron Eckert’s “The Spaceman”

Pauline Shen

How to tell an audience about a horrific encounter? Do it with a nonchalant-style narrative that drops details before the reader like loose change. In Deron Eckert’s “The Spaceman,” the first-person narrative does just that, “Everyone makes a big to-do about me, like I’m in shock or something…” With such a light touch on a heavy subject, Eckert draws the scene out to its fullest capacity, pulling the reader in without hesitation.

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Story Reviews

The Scar Behind the Story. Commentary on Brecht De Poortere’s “Mango Fly”

Pauline Shen

Brecht De Poortere’s “Mango Fly” is a quick and masterful telling of losing one’s innocence. Besides the troubling realism contained in the opening line itself, you know the plot spells trouble when our young protagonist-narrator sums-up the family’s relationship with character Nepo by saying, “[w]e trusted him because he was handsome and strong as a gun.” If the narrative were a roller-coaster, this is the point at the highest part of the track just before you begin to feel the car tip over the edge. It’s a wild ride, but keep your eyes open.

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Story Reviews

Eyes Half Closed or Half Open? A Commentary on Cecilia Januszewski’s “The Salmon Family Baptism”

Pauline Shen

Meet Bernadette and Moore Salmon, new parents who consider themselves first and foremost puppy parents to their dog, Thomas, rather than growing into their responsibility as human parents to the infant in this scene. In fact, Bernadette spends so much energy detaching herself from motherhood that she appears as a modern-day version of Bernice Pritchard from Steinbeck’s The Wayward Bus. Januszewski’s account of Bernadette’s visualization techniques to the point of obsession with none other than how the pet dog’s bandana looks are spot-on. Never for a moment does the reader lose interest in the story.

Continue reading “Eyes Half Closed or Half Open? A Commentary on Cecilia Januszewski’s “The Salmon Family Baptism”” →