omg ( )

At first, I thought this collection of short stories was over-done. But when I read, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Pavement," I was transported into a modern day, "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson. Then, upon reading, "Here," I experienced a touch of tenderness through grief along the underbelly of a family's life force.

At once both familiar and strikingly unique, Quatro has the deft skill of a magician with words, creating both truth and illusion. ( )

This is a great collection. The writing is beautiful, but not showy and the stories are heartbreaking and funny and sometimes weird, but weird in a good way that makes you want to read the next story just to be amazed at the author’s imagination. (I’m guessing I won’t encounter another story about a world where runners carry statues as they race.) For me all of the stories worked and I wished she had shown me more. ( )

Loved how all the stories in this book were connected in some way. Favorites were "1.7 to Tennessee," "Better to Lose an Eye," and "Sinkhole." ( )

This is an absorbing, fascinating collection of inter-linked stories that announces the arrival of an exciting new voice in fiction. I’m not sure that I’m exactly the target audience, but in these stories of illicit affairs, family relationships, religion and running (!) there is a lot to admire. Some stories are more realistic than others, in the sense that some are almost symbolic, elusive, allegorical. The setting is important, too: Lookout Mountain, on the border between the states of Georgia and Tennessee. This image of a border, a line, becomes central to the experiences of the characters in the stories – lines between fidelity and unfaithfulness, between religion and cult, between life and death.

I wondered at first what I would make of this collection, but Quatro is clearly a good writer. This is a book that leaves much unexplained, making the reader make connections and allowing them to interpret in many ways. Yes, the theme of religion is central, but never in a ‘preachy’ way, and it adds to the darkly compelling reach of the stories. But, for all that, I still feel that one or two of the stories were not as strong as others, and my overall feeling at the end of it was one of being left with an impression that this was a good collection, but I couldn’t pin down any one story that stood out. So, hmmm, I’m left a bit puzzled by my reaction – which in some ways is a testament to the book itself and the issues with which it deals. If I could, I would say 3 and a half stars, which is a bit of a cop out but there we go!
( )