firthFORTH Books

58 pgs./$8.95

Ask ten people for the definition of a short story and you will receive ten very different answers. Some agree on certain basic characteristics- a beginning middle and end, a protagonist, a conflict- yet sound arguments can be made against these aspects as defining elements. Hemingway’s famous (and disputed) ‘Baby Shoes,’ for example, is generally considered a short story despite being only six words long and not featuring a single character. The nine stories in Kevin Catalano’s debut collection are a diverse bunch. They vary in length (from a single paragraph to ten pages), in perspective, and in approach. A few of the stories follow a traditional arc- rising action, climax, resolution- while others resist conformity.

The title story reads much like a piece of tribal lore passed on through oral tradition:

and the men came down the mountain, came out of the wilderness cast in furs and skins, the rank of beast on their gnarled bodies, a fearful mystery in their eyes.

The single-page story is fascinating, but heavily abstract. It feels like an origin story and sets a savage, grave tone for the rest of the book.  Continue reading →