Aside from the Best American Short Stories 2008 collection, I’m well into the book Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. This book has turned out much differently than I expected and in a good way.

It’s a grand story about twin brothers born in Ethiopia. I knew from the book that one of the brothers had traveled to America and would be recounting his story but what I didn’t expect was to get to know the other characters in the story so well. Actually in the beginning we have so much of the backstory about his parents that I almost forgot who the main character was supposed to be. They are fascinating people living in a country that at once sounds beautiful and dangerous. Here’s a bit from the story for you:

“Born in Africa, living in exile in America, then returning at last to Africa, I am proof that geography is destiny. Destiny has brought me back to the precise coordinates of my birth, to the very same operating theater where I was born. My gloved hands share the space above the table in Operating Theater 3 that my mother and father’s hands once occupied.”

I’ve also been reading a bit into What It Is by Lynda Barry and this is one of those books that you almost have to go through twice because you don’t want to miss any of the writing and you certainly don’t want to miss out on all the exciting illustrations.

The book explores how the author, and perhaps a lot of people, love art but something happens along the way, a criticism, a laugh and those forays into art are forgotten. I love this. Here, read this and see what you think:

“By then I knew who the best artists were in our class, who were the best writers. Out of 30 kids there were about 10 that stood out and were good at something. — The rest of us started wishing. I wish I could draw. I wish I could write. I wish I could dance. I wish I could sing. I wish I could act. I wish I could play music. I wish I could be funny. By the 5th grade most of us knew it was already too late.”

Finally, a book I’ve just opened is Tomato Girl by Jayne Pupek. From the synopsis: Told from Ellie’s point of view, Tomato Girl takes the reader into the soul of a terrified young girl clinging desperately to childhood while being forced into adulthood years before she is ready. To save herself, she creates a secret world, a place in which her mother gets well, her father returns to being the man he was, and the Tomato Girl is banished forever.

I’ve only just started so can’t comment much but being that I’m an avid journal writer, I love this part:

“Today I carry my notebook and pen down the cellar steps. I stand on a chair and screw in a lightbulb to wash away shadows. Then I sit. The notebook on my lap waits like an expectant child. Long ago, a woman stood by a river and taught me the power of release. She would say I have held things and now I need to let go. I pick up the pen. I need to tell what I remember. I need to tell the story of a girl whose world unraveled like a torn scarf…”

So, what good books are you reading now?

Last week I mentioned checking out The Best American Short Stories from the library and this weekend I decided to read a couple of the stories. I felt a bit like a rebel just opening the book and starting off somewhere other than the first page although I did read the intro by Salman Rushdie which touched upon what is an American story and how the stories in this collection were selected.

The first story I read was Man and Wife by Katie Chase. This is the author’s first story published (originally published in The Missouri Review) and it takes the reader to a nondescript town where young girls talk about Barbies and riding bikes, and where parents host dinner parties. Sounds like any other kind of town, right?

“They say every girl remembers that special day when everything starts to change. I was lying under the tree in my parents’ backyard, an oak old enough to give shade but too young to be climbed, when Dad’s car pulled into the garage. All afternoon I’d been riding bikes with Stacie, but we had a fight when she proposed we play in my basement – it was getting too hot out, but I was convinced she was only using me for my Barbies. This was eight years ago. I was nine and a half years old.”

Mary Ellen will soon find out that her parents have arranged for her marriage to the much older but wealthy, Mr. Middleton. They’ve signed a contract offering her hand in marriage and not only will Mr. Middleton take care of Mary Ellen but he’ll also be taking care of her parents when they get older.

The summer months will now be used to train Mary Ellen to be a perfect wife and to prepare her for the Fall when she go to Mr. Middleton’s home. There will be no more school and probably no more Barbies but her parents got her a very good contract for very little in return so everyone is happy.

What makes this story interesting to me is that everything seems so normal but as a reader I’m wondering when is this taking place, what year? Or is this really a cult or a religious group? There is no mention of any of that, but the practice of child brides is what it is. Mary Ellen is a wonderful character because although she will do what is asked of her, she displays small acts of defiance. A very interesting story indeed.

I’ll keep you posted on the other stories. But does anyone regularly read The Missouri Review? Or, is there another literary magazine you turn to for your short stories? Let me know if you’ve got any you recommend.