SHORT STORY MONTH
Vanishing Act can be found in Steven Gillis' short story collection, Giraffes (Atomic Quill Press, 2007). It was previously published in Opium and will also be included in an anthology based on the idea of visiting hours next fall from Press 53.
Let me start this off by stating that Steven Gillis is in fact the same person who is my partner in Dzanc Books - just so nobody decides to point this out afterwards. One thing that has made our partnership run so smoothly to date though, besides Steve's extremely even-mannered temper, is the extreme similarity in tastes that we share when it comes to literature. So, it really comes as no great surprise that I really like his writing. And, while I think the two of his (soon to be) three novels that I've read were truly excellent, I think his abilities in the short form are possibly even greater. He is one of those writers that is going to end up with three or four collections by the time he's done and a reader will be able to sit down with the whole pile and read straight through, rarely feeling they've already seen this before, or heard that before, from the previous stories.
Vanishing Act story is a scant three pages, but it packs a huge wallop of emotion, probably moreso for males with either really great, or really horrible, relationships with their fathers. The father in this story is on the verge of passing on due to cancer, and the chemo apparently did not work. Throughout the story, he verbally tosses out events from their history together - just words or phrases really - and the son replies with greater detail, though with some regret as it appears he believes once they finish the history recollections his father will die.
It's an interesting approach, and Gillis is able to infuse an incredible amount of emotion, something I questioned when I began reading, into the story.
Again, there's always the possibility I'm biased when it comes to Steven's writing, so for another peek from somebody who has read the full collection - wander over here.
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