SHORT STORY MONTH
Dorene O'Brien's debut story collection, Voices of the Lost and Found will be coming out from Wayne State University Press in July. It's part of the Press' Made in Michigan Writers Series and based on the few stories I've had a chance to read is both a) quite good and b) aptly titled.
"Riding the Hubcap" is told by a young man who happens to be riding shotgun to a similarly aged, yet slightly more disturbed, man. When the story opens up, they are a few days and four states from where they started their trip, in Michigan. O'Brien does a really nice job of capturing the strained relationship the two men have, which invites some credability to the last couple of pages.
She also does a real nice job of keeping the story moving forward - either via action, or the thinking going on in the narrator's head. There isn't a slow moment in the story, as it involves teen angst, a rape, mundane working conditions, leering, robbery, murder, police chases, and more. Beyond that though, everything just feels right - the action, the dialogue, the specific actions of each character. I fully intended on strictly reading this one story to do a post and move on, and found myself reading three other stories from the collection before shutting the book. Look for it.
Thanks, Dan, for reviewing the story and in that review capturing what I found to be most important and interesting: the disintegration of a relationship and the toxic result of unchecked impulses. Appreciate it!
Posted by: Dorene O'Brien | May 15, 2007 at 06:30 AM