Aly’s often dark, aching tales ooze humanity and will leave readers unsettled and contemplative. In “The Mentor,” retired professor Rodman leaves cryptic clues for his godson, Sabastian, to uncover his network of activists and locate the funds he has embezzled from his work with unnamed racketeers. Unfortunately for Sabastian, his impatience and short-sightedness leave him high and dry, putting himself, and his family, at risk. Aly’s prose is direct and economical, and he leaves welcome space for readers to connect the dots and mull over connections, outcomes, and ironies.
The title story takes a sharp turn, with a heartening narrative centered on Ralph Bixner, a suicidal man who encounters troubled student Stephen Elwood and shares his wisdom with the boy, in the process experiencing an epiphany about his own woes: “Whatever my problems are, other people are carrying just as heavy a burden as I am.” Readers will catch the thread of angst that weaves through each story, none more so than Anita in “Beach Walk,” who ruefully wonders if her flagging marriage will be revitalized by a couples vacation–“Can two miles of beach change the course of life?” The result is a moving revelation of the ties that bind us all.
Takeaway: An accomplished story collection that finds human feeling in desperate scenarios.
Great for fans of: Claire Vaye Watkins’s Battleborn, Laura Lippman’s Seasonal Work.
Production grades
Cover: B-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B
