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In this unique story collection, readers encounter characters of all ages from all walks of life who attempt to understand how memory shapes the current crises and situations that they each face. First, readers meet Yanka, a young woman whose physical and mental disabilities inhibit her from leading a normal life. When she finds herself at the hands of abusive soldiers, Yanka is shocked by the humanity of one of them. However, a twist of fate rips him from her life. Next, readers meet Livia, a little girl struggling to understand that the uniformed man standing with her mother in their home is Livia's father. Then, as the collection continues, readers encounter Dr. Sally Agnew. She leaves academia after budget cuts eradicate her position and then takes a job in a rough-and-tumble pizza parlor. By the collection's end, readers have met a swath of memorable characters. Like the dying mother in "Half-Full" battling against death with humor, some of them hold the potential to change readers' lives and perceptions.
The most unique aspect of this collection is its relatability for readers. For example, due to the economic downturns and instability of the last several years, readers from all backgrounds can empathize with Dr. Sally Agnew as she loses her position at a college just before she's eligible for tenure. After her severance package and unemployment benefits end, Sally finds herself training for a job at a pizza joint, earning just enough to pay her rent. When a man attempts to hold up the parlor, and Sally thwarts him by offering kindness rather than fear, she finds herself holding the power to do something that she thought she would never find—the inspiration to finish the book she began writing as a professor but failed to finish. Other readers might find themselves emphathizing more with the narrator in "Half-Full," a person who struggles not only to cope with the reality of a mother dying but also to recognize that the mother's sense of humor did, in fact, brighten others' days despite her failed attempts at a successful comedy career. Other readers will find inspiration in stories like "The Persistence of Memory," which advocates "Once you learn you never forget" and dares readers to return to their passions, no matter how old they are.
This honest, human collection offers something for everyone: humor, drama, hope. With the intellectual prowess of David Oates' The Mountains of Paris: How Awe and Wonder Rewrote My Life, this book will intrigue readers who seek thought-provoking prose. With the subtle, dry humor of Flannery O'Connor stories like "A Good Man is Hard to Find," stories like "Livia's Daddy Comes Home from the War" transport readers to a more innocent time, and the story's duality offers an intellectual challenge as well as a humorous relief. More mature readers will appreciate stories like "Turn, Turn, Turn" and "Ashes to Ashes," while younger readers will enjoy the fairytale hopefulness in stories like "A Real Prince." Powerful and engaging, this collection is a fresh, rejuvenating offering in the world of short fiction.
Maher's Earth As It Is was a 2021 Eric Hoffer Book Award Category Finalist
RECOMMENDED by the US Review