Return Fire |
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BOOK
REVIEW by Willard Manus
Hats off
to The Johns Hopkins University Press. In a lowkey, under-the-radar way,
the company has over the years been publishing noteworthy short-story
collections by such fine American writers as Stephen Dixon, Judith Grossman
and Jack Matthews. Recent titles have also included works by Max Apple
(The Jew of Home Depot and Other Stories), Jean McGarry (Ocean State)
and, now, Glenn Blake. |
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These working-class folk are strange, tough and profane. They are also prone to anger and violence--but can behave with dignity and humor as well. Above all, they are brutally honest with each other and with the world in general, knowing full well that, as one character says, "In this life, we don't always get what we want. We don't always get what we need. In this life, we get what we deserve." The earth here sinks a few inches every year because of the encroaching tides; it also suffers from recurring oil-field fires. In the face of environmental disaster, poverty and frontier justice, the locals scratch and claw to stay alive, keep their demons at bay. |