Aspects
of human frailty and damaged psyches permeate the stories in Mr. Tall, the latest
collection of short fiction by Tony Earley. Earley's work (Jim the Boy and Here We Are in Paradise) delves into the lives
of ordinary people and addresses complex themes in a pared-down style. This
time around, Earley tackles stories about characters that include, in
"Yard Art," a divorced 28-year-old midwife and a
rough-around-the-edges, bluegrass-singing plumber who spend an afternoon
searching for what may or may not be a valuable piece of sculpture.
"Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands" explores the relationship of
a North Carolina couple forced to come to terms with the state of their
marriage now that their daughter has left for college. Four taut scenes frame
"Just Married," a beautiful story about a recently wed older couple
that bears witness to the intersection of random events and memory. An
isolated, elderly Nashville widow becomes rapt by the disappearance of a
seventh grader in "Have You Seen the Stolen Girl?" The incident
conjures remembrances of the widow's own child and Jesse James, who legend says
once lived for a time at the woman's address. "The Cryptozoologist"
centers on a widow who believes she has spied a "skunk ape," a type
of Bigfoot creature, wandering outside her home. The presence of the wildly
elusive beast compels her to reconcile her past and her true feelings for her
misunderstood artist husband.
Elements
of the surreal resurface in the novella, "Jack and the Mad Dog," a
story about how a young man's misdeeds come back to bite him via a talking dog
and a clever play on the Jack and the Beanstalk fable. And in "Mr.
Tall," the most suspenseful story of the collection, a young woman living
in the 1930s marries a man who whisks her away from her family into a new life
filled with uncertainty. Amid loneliness, the young wife is drawn to a
mysteriously widowed, reclusive neighbor nicknamed Mr. Tall, who inhabits the
only other farmhouse nearby. The young wife is warned to stay away, but can she
resist learning more about this man's past?
Earley's
vivid, well-crafted short stories speak volumes about the startling realities
of life and the complexities of human relationships. He deftly compresses whole
life histories into just a few pages that successfully blend humor and
poignancy, reality and myth. All of the stories feature Southeastern locales
and characters who are ripped from the familiarity of their lives--the comfort,
however good or bad, they know and depend upon--only to be thrust, oftentimes
unwillingly, into new realities. Along the way, unearthed secrets and
epiphanies lead to revelatory moments infused with regret and grace.
Mr.Tall by Tony
Earley
Publication Date: August
26, 2014
Note: This review is a
reprint and is being posted (in a slightly different form) with the permission
of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Book Trade (8/1/14),
click HERE