"Last Call For A Loner," by Tom Sheehan

The mystique of traditional story telling offers a look through the amber of the frozen, inexplicable moment. A stranger hitchhiking; he’s a loner without place or connection and accepts a ride from a driver of a rig who offers an invitation to his home. Serendipity enters, and by coincidence the loner and the driver’s father find a connection. There are details here about pervasive loneliness that strike a chord beyond the story. The descriptions are mesmerizing like this one: (he) “…felt again that unknown sweep of energy come across his chest …making him think he was in a kind of wind tunnel.” The ending satisfies like a tale well told and must be read entirely to appreciate the spoiler that will not be revealed, here at Serving House Journal.

"Colloid," by Justin D. Anderson

Anderson’s story weaves brief scenes with associative connections between fathers and sons. It’s a “solemn” lyric story that moves between particular details and ambivalent meaning such as the opening line, “My old man used to tell me about rumors.” The title holds the piece tightly, which I realized after consulting my dictionary and then experienced the story with a slight shift, for the better. It’s quite an experience reading this story. Think of a watercolor painting blurred around the edges that calls attention to realism but does not shy away from impressions. Read it here at Necessary Fiction.

"Hero of the Nation," by Ranbir Sidhu

In a family where multiple generations live together with a variety of needs and ways to satisfy those needs, it might be expected that a lot of tension will result. The protagonist is a brave, young girl probably around the age of 12 or 13. She and her brother torment each other with a barrage of blue words. The parents are distracted with the care of the elderly grandfather, and they cower at the consequences for an ill and aging parent. One of the strengths of this story is the dialogue that captures three simultaneous conversations at the dinner table all witnessed by the inaudible grandfather. The story is both surprising and believable up to the very end. Enjoy it here at Barcelona Review.

"The Piano Lesson," by Andrew Wallace Chamings

In the voice of a child, some breathtaking short stories have been written. One collection that comes to mind is Steven Millhauser’s In the Penny Arcade. Chamings, in this story, captivates the reader with an intriguing first paragraph that begins: “It was the start of the year and the end of the day.” The story sweeps through past time and near past never leaving the deepening moment of the piano lesson as Dale, the imaginative boy, ploughs through “Moonlight Sonata” under his teacher’s guidance. The story offers many moments of concrete detail such as biting into holly berries that result in “A dry and cold bitter juice soaked into the back of my tongue.” The effect is a story implanted in the reader’s mind. For a magical read, try it here at Prick of the Spindle.

"Fresh Eggs," by Jeffrey N. Johnson

Johnson’s beautifully written story takes place in contemporary time and owes a nod to the Southern Agrarian tradition. When H.L. Mencken wrote his 1920 essay, “The Sahara of the Bozeart,” he chastised the South for its poverty of intellectual and cultural contributions. In response, twelve eminent Southerners wrote I’ll Take My Stand: Southern Agrarian Tradition (1930) which help foster a formidable Southern Literary Renaissance. In Johnson’s story, the reader feels the loss of culture through the protagonist who laments that his young son will only experience a weekly visit for fresh eggs as “a childhood novelty, a petting zoo at best.” The heart of the story is not ideological but the deeper theme that the boy is unaware of, how people are more important than the competitive price of eggs. Read it here at Night Train.

"Touch," by Jesse Goolsby

This is a prize story, winner of the 2010 Bausch Short Story award. Goolsby writes with some military experience behind him and evokes the emotional trauma of a soldier who returns from Afghanistan. A strong narrative voice delivers the soldier’s particular experience with the horrors of war. The core of the story rests on the character’s life upon returning home. The experience of touch can be more difficult to receive than give when emotional response has been programmed for defensive alert. He realizes, “I’ve forgotten how to touch my children.” During a game of singing the alphabet with his daughters and the persistent touch of his wife’s hands, this veteran is nudged back on the road to emotional response. Read it here at Our Stories.

"Last Night and Other Stories," by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

Part way through reading, this story took me off guard. I wasn’t prepared for a certain revelation that can only be experienced by the reader first hand; otherwise, to reveal it here would weaken any initial reading. The strong voice of the narrator carries the story. She’s fascinating in the way that Scheherazade might have been to the king. This contemporary story spinner is both a creator of lies and aware of her guilty participation. But tables eventually turn and she must face herself. There are many rewarding moments of surprise and especially in the way the story finds its ending. Enjoy it here at Hot Metal Bridge.