"The Anniversary," by Sanja Condit

The opening dialogue works with musical rhythm. Condit’s writing entices us immediately to listen to the characters as their relationship and situation unfolds.  The close point of view leans well into associative leaps like the houses once were as”neat as wooden blocks./He’d made a set of wooden blocks for Olivia...”.  Through the way the character’s mind works we get close to the emotion of loss and loneliness experienced in this story.  And the story moves in surprising ways as it uncovers this complex character immersed in a life that always seems just out of reach. Read it here in Sleet Magazine.

"No Gold Rush," by Alta Ifland

This story walks the line between fable and philosophy complete with an unreliable mustached peasant. It poses questions about the nature of love, the beloved and the lover, the object and the subject.  There is an alchemic quality to the story that leaves the reader pondering questions like, what did that mean, and do I believe this story-teller?  When the narrator reveals “that we are nothing but molecules of being completely cut off from each other, and that in order to make existence bearable we have been inventing fictions since the dawn of time, fooling ourselves that something like “love” existed, when in fact the only thing that exists are our skin and bones,” the reader deftly moves with her through the worlds of prosaic experience and ideas.  I’m reminded of the Calvino novel, Invisible Cities, a wonderful mix of fiction and geography of the world. If you like Calvino, you’ll love this story. If you are not familiar with him, give this story a try here at Identity Theory. 

"Divine Beings," by Michelle Lawrence

Tight economic times take marriages into tough places.  This marriage is no different.  When her husband finally lands economic success by creating and selling Jesus zucchini, he stretches the patience of his wife.  With the endorsement of his mother and church, he invites his wife to join the fold. The language is packed with character revealing description and action.  The surprise at the end is well earned with a twist on the religious thread that runs throughout.  For a great read turn here to Stones Throw Magazine.

"Orphans," by Douglas Light

It’s a story of loss.  She’s without parents since nineteen years old and family connections .  What she has now is only the memory of an abusive uncle.  Advice was given by a neighbor’s dad, a policeman, who counseled her to get a gun. While drinking wine, she remarks about cork: “Twenty-five years it takes the tree to mature.  Then it’s stripped naked of its bark, and stripped once every nine years after that.  The thought terrifies me.”   Language moves this story forward with inevitability of character.  She is now twenty-five.  For a chilling read go here to failbetter. 

"The Map," by Don Schwartz

This story has the ambience of a modern film noir and a chilling discovery about the Nazi’s penchant for detail surrounding a mysterious map. But the story delves deeper than any film noir movie. The relic from Hitler’s private collection is a corner of a map of the Warsaw ghetto before the Jewish uprising. And the map was an exact replica of every block, every building, every nook and cranny used for hidden munitions and hidden passages where children confiscated bread from outside the ghetto and returned and delivered their bounty to their parents. With remarkable intrigue and references to actual events and people, Schwartz weaves a story to illuminate what it means to be German. Read it here at The Adirondack Review.

“Since the Accident: A Story,” by Michael Croley

What at first the reader perceives as a trauma sustained from a car crash later burrows deeper into character aspects of integrity and honesty and the quiet conflict with her spouse. Secrets and the difficulty of communicating truth fester below the accumulating snow of this winter tale. The story unfolds a common enough life of a middle class couple in a small town where there are expectations about starting a family. But something’s wrong. Read the story here at Narrative Magazine to find the clues about this woman’s internal dilemma.

"Caution," by Nathaniel Bellows

The story opens with a clear statement of fact: “It was Mrs. Adams, a woman from their town, who had died.” The omniscient voice tantalizes us with its distance from events and emotion. A girl and her mother share something curious, a penchant for hiding emotion and facts. Bellows’ story is full of tension and mystery. Some things in life happen and we cower, other things happen and we deny their occurrence. Sometimes the factual details of events cushion painful emotion, masking as denial. And then there are shocking moments that can only be explained through sheer passion of emotion. This story delivers on all of this as well as mystery, death, and violence in a seemingly quiet Vermont town, which carries an invisible air of violence. Read it here in memorious for the pure pleasure of it and the puzzling facets of detail.