There is a reason Jill McCorkle is considered one of our best contemporary short story writers, and that is because all, and I mean all, of her stories are damn good. McCorkle doesn’t let us down in her newest collection of eleven stories, Going Away Shoes.
The lead story, “Going Away Shoes”, tells of Debby, who is taking care of her senile, aging Mother, surrounded by her strange and estranged sisters who live in their own worlds and have no clue. What world though does Debby live in? “Surrender” is a tale of a most precocious child and her struggles with her mother. “Midnight Clear” is the story of a newly single mother and her two young sons in their new house as Christmas approaches. “Another Dimension” tells of a brother and sister in middle age who are not quite ready to let parts of their childhood and their earlier relationships become solely the province of the past. “Happy Accidents” is another saga of relationships and survival by, among other things, painting by numbers even though one is no longer in childhood and far from decrepit old age.
“PS” is written as a letter to a woman’s therapist; the female author of the letter chastises the therapist for not really helping her while she brings up the near and faraway past. “Driving to the Moon” is perhaps my favorite story in the book, and I won’t give away the story by saying two much. Suffice it to say the story is one of relationships, of wishes and dreams and failed expectations overshadowed by a layer of hope.
Going Away Shoes is true, solid McCorkle, and each story is powerful and stands on its own legs. There are no bad stories here, but, instead, a series of hard-hitting, meaningful, poignant, yet humorous tales. All are written from the female perspective, which makes a lot of sense, but, the stories will appeal to male and female alike.
I will tell you what I really like about Jill McCorkle and Going Away Shoes. With many short story collections, the lead story is the best and it’s all downhill from there. Not so here. In fact, my favorites are the eighth and tenth stories in the book. Each reader will have their own. -Deal
