I have seldom read a collection of short stories when I wasn’t tempted to skip or skim some stories. This group of short stories are simply amazing. The prose is almost poetic and each story is a little golden nugget of power.

The stories I liked best were “Heist” and “Walter John Harmon,” both stories dealing with “religion.”

“Heist” is charactered by a priest and a rabbi. Thieves break into a small, poor Catholic church and steal the only thing of value, the large crucifix at the head of the altar. As the priest frets and fumes, he receives a call from a rabbi in another neighborhood, asking the priest to come to his apartment. When the priest arrives, the rabbi takes him up to the roof where the men find the discarded crucifix. The priest, while glad to get the crucifix is more interested in the rabbi and his family. The two men talk philosophically about this man named “Jesus,” and become friends. They decide to investigate and solve the mystery of who stole the crucifix. At the end of the story, the case remains unsolved, as do the many questions the two men hold about the differences in their respective religions. The philosophical discussions by the two men make for good reading and many thought-provoking questions for the reader to consider.

My second favorite story, “Walter John Harmon,” is set in a cult. Jim and Betty, newlyweds, have joined this cult founded by John Harmon, a Christ-figure, who takes the sins of his followers on himself so they might be freed and cleansed. Part of this cleansing is the rite of “purification” which most of the men’s wives and daughters undergo at the hands of John Harmon. Followers have lost count of the number of women and girls Harmon has slept with. At first when Betty is “purified,” Jim is “honored” his wife has been chosen, and the act only strengthens their marriage and bond. It only makes him love her more. However, as the years go by, and Jim works as a lawyer on behalf of the cullt’s many lawsuits and legal battles, his profession before entering the cult, and Betty teaches pre-schoolers, Jim becomes disenchanted by the number of times Betty requires “purification.” When John Harmon leaves unexpectedly and takes Betty with him, Jim takes things all in stride and becomes a figure of respect to the followers. How he takes over as leader and changes the cult makes for an interesting ending to the strange story.

Both stories are not your usual norm of short story, and interspersed with the interesting plots are philosophical questions and thoughts that make the reader think. Although this sounds “deep,” the stories are written in such an engaging way that the reader is caught up in them and literally can’t put this collection down except between stories so he/she can ruminate on the thoughts they present. This 2016 publication is reading at its very best.

RAE