Twelve piercing stories, sometimes sharing characters (a waitress, Candy, in "Commandments" appears as a main character in "Baby in the Pan"; a man revered in the town as a wise and caring shop teacher who changed many lives for the better is revealed to be beastly to his wife and son at home; a student of Alton's stars in his own story of looking for somewhere that feels like home). Divorce, disintegration, secrets, silence, beauty, drama (as in theater) - overall a stellar, sometimes dark, collection.

Quotes

Epigraph: "Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets." --Arthur Miller, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan

There was a time when we had silence.
It was so quiet you could hear what someone said. ("The Lineman," 23)

They read aloud the descriptions in the program, the various plant names like incantations that might open the wrought iron gates and heavy, ancient doors that led to other lives: trumpet vines and bleeding hearts, astilbe, pulmonaria, laurel, lilac, euonymus. ("A Simple Question," 97) ( )

Written with wisdom, much emotional depth and insight, the stories in Old Crimes: and Other Stories by Jill McCorkle depict how secrets, mistakes, and regrets can leave an indelible impact on the human psyche and relationships. Despite the short length of each of these stories, they are emotionally heavy reads that inspire pause and reflection.

In the first story, ” Old Crimes” (4.5/5), we meet a high school teacher who ruminates on her memories of a trip to New Hampshire from decades ago when she was a college student. Her encounter with a six-year-old girl in the run-down inn where she was staying prompted her to think about her own expectations from life and influenced her perception of cruelty and evil in the world -thoughts that have remained with her through the years. “The Lineman”(4.5/5) revolves around a telephone lineman who tries to come to terms with how human connections and relationships have been impacted by dependence on technology and digitization. He regrets his failed relationships and struggles to hold on to those he holds dear, hoping that one day, when all technology fails, he will be appreciated for his skills. A woman experiences much regret over her inability to speak up for herself or her son as she reflects on the forty years, she has spent in an abusive marriage to a man who was loved and admired by everyone in town in “Low Tones”(5/5). In “Commandments” (5/5), we follow a group of women, a “self-help group of sorts”, each of whom was romantically involved with and dumped by the same man. Their interactions with the strong-willed waitress who serves them in the café where they meet once a month, inspire them to take stock of their lives and reevaluate their priorities.

Our protagonist in “Swinger”(4/5) is grappling with the recent loss of the man with whom she had been in a live-in relationship for the past three years. As she prepares to vacate the home they shared, a box of photographs she finds among his belongings seems to deepen her insecurities, prompting her to question the depth of his commitment to her. In “A Simple Question”(4/5) a woman reflects on her friendship with her older colleague, a woman twice her age, from twenty-five years ago and how own insensitivity and immaturity contributed to their drifting apart. In “Baby in the Pan”(4.5/5) we meet a young mother whose choices cause friction with own her mother, who harbors painful childhood memories. A man rents a room in his late grandparents' former home which is now a gas station when he visits his hometown to visit his dying high school shop teacher in “Filling Station”(4/5) but his attempts to surround himself with happy memories from his childhood for his peace of mind don’t quite go according to plans.

A young couple purchases an old confessional from an antique shop unprepared for the awkward and uncomfortable situations that arise from what was intended to be a source of entertainment among their friends in “Confessional”(5/5). We meet a retired elementary school librarian who does not back down from expressing her opinions and holds her own in her crusade against several social issues in “The Last Station." (4.5/5) A holiday gathering with her adult children and their families brings back memories of the years gone by for a retired high school drama teacher as she contemplates sharing news of her failing health in “Act III”.(5/5) While attending her son’s Little League matches, a young newly divorced mother of two is befriended an elderly woman who shares stories about the town in the aftermath of a recent tragedy, in ”Sparrow”. (4.5/5)

In turn, profoundly insightful, heartbreaking yet reflective and thought-provoking, these stories explore the human condition through complex yet real and relatable characters in various stages of life. The common thread among these stories is deep-rooted sorrow, loneliness and the desire for human connection, the life changing consequences of the choices people make and the emotions they choose to internalize – voluntarily or otherwise – the “crimes’’ they commit toward oneself and those they hold dear. Few of the characters appear in more than one story, allowing us to explore their character arcs from different vantage points. The tone of these stories ranges from melancholic to nostalgic and contemplative, though there are some moments of humor to be within the pages as well . Overall, I found this to be an impactful and exceptionally well-written collection of short stories that I would not hesitate to recommend this collection to those who enjoy character-driven short fiction.

Many thanks to Algonquin Books for both the digital review copy via NetGalley and the physical ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book was published on January 9, 2024. ( )

You have to swoon over a character who has quotes from Charlotte’s Web tattooed on her arm, whose life was changed by a book read by a librarian.

The characters in these stories are humanely rendered with great sympathy and insight. They make you laugh and bring tears.

There is the sister who sticks a needle into her brother’s condoms because she wants his girlfriend as a sister-in-law. And the mother who considers her gathered family and imagines a Rod Serling voiceover narrating the truth she is hiding from them.

Life is filled with unsolved mysteries, crimes unsolved, innocent people sacrificed, a young woman thinks. A lineman recalls learning his ‘sister’ was really his mother as he dwells on the tenuous lines of communication. A man esteemed by the community is abusive behind closed doors. Women gather in spiteful gossip sessions to trash the man who dumped them.

With complex and relatable characters and conjuring emotions from laughter to sadness, I loved these stories.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book. ( )