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Reading this hefty book of short stories that explores the traits and lives of everyday people is enough to wallop a reader in the gut. The tales are all too real. The characters are never seen through a kind pink haze; without softening, they show us --- in unflinching prose --- jealousy, possessiveness, despair, loss and more. And yet we cannot look away; Mary Gordon is describing us.
One theme running through the collection is the notion that the past is never truly gone. The first story, "City Life," brings us Beatrice, whose marriage to Peter is founded on the lie that her parents are dead and her upbringing was normal. In fact, Beatrice has no idea if her alcoholic parents in their filthy hopeless home are still alive. Her life with Peter and her children is disrupted when they move from their restored farmhouse in the country into a New York City apartment. Beatrice meets her past there, and she can no longer deny its power over her life.
The underbelly of love is another premise in many tales, such as "Separation," in which a mother struggles with society's expectation that her young child should bond with others besides herself. The author poses a question: How powerful is the force of maternal possessiveness? In this chilling piece, we see the extreme, which is strong enough to warp lives.
The world constantly changes, as does our place in it. In "Death in Naples," a family jaunt to Naples leaves an elderly widow searching for both her own autonomy and landmarks of her past happy travels with her late husband. Her quest leaves her lost in a world in which she feels misplaced.
Catholicism is the underpinning of many of these stories. In "The Deacon," a nun, Joan Fitzgerald, encounters a trying spiritual challenge in the form of an inept teacher in the parish school in which Joan is principal. The teacher, Gerard, is the one person Joan feels she cannot stomach. Yet fate (or Gerard would say "God's will") pushes them together in a solitary meal during which Joan must make a difficult spiritual choice.
In "Bishop's House," Lavinia seeks solace at the home of elderly friends. Another guest, also recovering from an ended romance, tries the patience of everyone in the house. Lavinia discovers, in a double twist of revelation, that no one is as they appear.
Revenge is served in "Cleaning Up" --- but instead of being punishment for wrongdoing, it strives to chastise an unbearable act of charity. The multilayered story acknowledges the deeply hidden rationale of a seemingly irrational action.
In "Walt," the main character is stuck in a spider web where she considers the ultimate and unforgivable cruelty: her own, toward someone who loves her. The impulse to squelch him survives decades. She can't stop yet she can't live with her actions.
THE STORIES OF MARY GORDON is not a light read, jabbing sharp, unrelenting elbows into the reader and whispering, "Do you recognize yourself?" The following passage in this collection's "Storytelling" struck a chord with me. A new acquaintance is speaking to the main character, who is a writer:
"Are all your books depressing?" asked Jean-Claude.
"I think I write about life as it is."
The tales Mary Gordon writes are about unadorned lives. While they are sometimes bleak, they are also thought-provoking, engrossing and unforgettable, making THE STORIES OF MARY GORDON a challenging and rewarding read.
--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon
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