Christopher Coake

Seven short stories about people in trouble after witnessing or dealing with death, with superb dialogue. In Back Down to Earth, during a bedroom chat, a man tells his lover the story of his failure to rescue his dog at the edge of a precipice, and his witnessing the fall, feeling that he should fling himself after his dog, and that his act was so wrong that he had condemned himself. in All Babies Come From Heaven, a lesbian couple arguing about whether to have a baby find their positions reversed when one of them witnesses an automobile accident in which a toddler dies. Cross Country depicts the kidnapping of a child from the point of view of the kidnapper, the child, and another child on a different trip with his father. Ambiguities and subtleties abound. In A Single Awe, at a Christmas party, a wife realizes she no longer likes the husband she fell in love with and married because he saved a mother in a terrible accident and suffered burns as a result. I found the final story, All through the house, the weakest. Here, a police chief deals with the aftermath of his best friend killing his wife, his sons, and his inlaws. The scenes around the murder are well drawn. It's just that the murder itself strains credulity.

But all in all, a great debut. However, not something to read when you need some cheer. Because in one way or another, aren't we all in trouble?… (meer)

As a parent, it was difficult to read this--about a man struggling to deal with the death of his 6-year-old son and the resulting death of his marriage.... Though the story was told from the father's point of view, there were a number of other people's perspectives that were made pretty clear, too. It was challenging, finding one person to identify with--I could see many sides of the story and relate to several of the characters.

I know some people have a difficult time reading books (or watching movies) about things like this, so whether or not I'd recommend it would depend on the individual. (I won't let my husband read it, that's for sure!) I found the writing to be wonderful, despite the fact that this was an advanced copy and there were a few errors in it... To say I "enjoyed" it would be wrong. However, I did feel like it was, indeed, a "good read". I'll look for more work by this author.… (meer)