What Some Would Call Lies: Novellas

Synopsis

Two Novellas Introduce Two Protagonists Yielding To Long-stymied Grief. In Shoplifting, A Writer Named Monica Evans Assumes The Role Of Stay-at-home Mother To A Toddler In The Sticks Of Northern California. The Angst Of This Identity Shift Moves Monica To More Deeply Process Life Events Formerly Consigned To Emotional Shorthand--namely Her Choice To Drop Out Of An Mfa Program; The Memoir She Started Writing Then Abruptly Stopped; And The Death Of Her Sister, A Prospective Lawyer Who Was A Troublemaker With A Knack For Shoplifting In A Past Life. This Reflecting, As Well As Several Rattling Visitations From A Specter, Eventually Causes Monica To Resume Her Memoir By Way Of Writing A Piece On Shoplifting. In Doing So, She Finds Herself Adopting A Penchant For The Habit That Heals Her In Surprising Ways. In Infidels, An Adult Named Jackie Rose Recalls His Wintry Preteen Years In Suburban Minnesota Against The Backdrop Of 1970s Postwar Anxiety. Jackie Is The Son Of An Alcoholic Father Who Is A Vietnam Veteran-turned-kitchenware-salesman. Jackie's Mother Is A Homemaker Who--much To Her Husband's Chagrin--is Pursuing A College Education. Jackie Himself Is More Like His Mother In That He Is Bookish And Prefers To Spend Time In The Library Reading And Worrying About Russian Warfare Over Training For The Hockey And Baseball Tryouts His Father Insists He Attend. Amid Increasing Tension Between His Parents, Jackie Disappears Into The Formidable Task That Is Leaving Boyhood Behind In Me Decade Middle America