Shooting Creek and Other Stories by Scott Loring Sanders Down
and Out Books
To paraphrase a Sheriff in one of the
stories, There is a school of thought that there Lord does not give us more
than we can bare but in a lot of theses stories He sure seems to be pushing
it…This collection of short stories reveals the more literary side of crime
fiction, many of the stories involve crime only in a tangential way. Like Art
Taylor, Sanders knows that criminal activity is just another element in a well
told story. Sanders touches on family and the dynamic between fathers and their
sons, whether abandonment or devotion, between sons and their mothers, and when
truth might emerge… “One night after Mom had one too many Schaefers…”
In
Joyride, a fifteen abandoned by his father latches on to his nineteen year old
cousin, newly released from Rahway State Prison…. “People crossed to the
opposite sidewalk when they saw him coming. He had a swagger, a hardness which
most rational folks immediately recognized: steer clear of that guy. The
hackles of dogs would stand on end when he passed. But for me, just being
around him made me feel tough as if toughness was contagious…” Introduced to
the joy of stealing cars by his cousin, his first job was to dispose of a
garbage bag full of license plates.…"like a Rouge Santa with an illegal
pack of goods. And it did feel like Christmas in a way. Some sort of
delinquent, sinister Christmas…”
For
as much pain as some of these stories offer, there are equal amounts of humor.
For example this comment on matters marital...”Bacon sizzled in the skillet, a
spatula clinking against a skillet, no doubt Deborah making exactly five piece
for her own self and exactly zero for me, a perfect illustration of where our
marriage stood.” (from Waiting on Joe)
The
details ring true, in Jim Limey's Confession, Jim is telling his deathbed tale
so it is not forgotten. A black man who cleaned the outhouses in a southern
town knows who killed the missing little white girl but can't say. Even on hot
days he can not be seen by white folks covering his mouth with a
kerchief..."White folks didn’t like to see a Negro covering up his face at
the smell of their business.” Imagine what could happen if you accused a white
man of a crime.
In
Moss Man, a farmer points out to the journalist seeking the Jersey Devil…”A
jackass learns to plow a row by doing, not by being told.” It is a story about
what the devil takes and what one man will do to survive.
This
is a truly enjoyable and well written story collection, full of humor,
ambiguity, and often no good choices. Highly recommended.
John Stickney ©2017
John Stickney is a writer formerly from
Cleveland, Ohio now residing in North Carolina. His fiction has appeared
in Thuglit, Demolition, Needle, among others.
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