>Each story in this set of short stories has elements of realism. Each develops as though it is a dream or an overthinking of how a conflict might play out given uncanny circumstances with unusual characters and surreal events. I read an interview with Ross Wilcox, where he says that he likes to write about losers because he has a pessimistic view of life. I would not characterize his characters as losers, but rather as eccentrics or individuals overly in touch with their inner conflicts and foibles. Wilcox’s ability to convey humor provides an upbeat attitude toward life, even when things are at their worst.
My favorite story was “Of Small Account,” which depicts a husband and wife who use their 3-D printer to create a child. I laughed out loud about how carried away they got in printing out playmates, teachers, and even a school. Things got more difficult for them as they attempted to design their son’s eventual mate. This story seemed to reflect every parent’s desire to have children in their likeness and their efforts to keep their children under control. Wilcox allowed these characters to create a possible reality with help from technology.
Other stories make social statements about what we humans do to assert ourselves, get what we want, and make sure we are better than others. He also accentuates how important it is for humans to exercise control over the environment and the people they know. These themes were particularly true in “Year of Our Lawn” and “Oliver Weston GBV.” These two stories also showed competitions getting out of control and the omnipotent side of the human psyche.
Wilcox’s attitude toward taking independence away from aging parents was disturbing in “Broken Vessel” and “Puddin Suitcase,” but I truly enjoyed both of these stories. In “Broken Vessel,” Sally robs banks to pay for nursing home care for her mother. Yet, she shows great devotion to her mom and matches her mom’s predilection for irrational behavior, using her bank-robbing costumed-body as a vessel for her father’s ghost. In “Puddin Suitcase,” a poodle has been buried in Bobby’s Aunt Edna’s yard for about five years. Bobby is fearful of digging up PUDDIN to bring to a new residence. His initial decision not to dig up the poodle’s body causes conflict with his mother, cousin, and aunt. Bobby is also reluctant to tell his family about his male lover. When he finally concedes to dig up the dog, his male friend helps him, and his aunt doesn’t seem to react to his friend. Neither of his fears was warranted.
Did you ever wonder how people who make about the same amount of money that you do have so much more spending power? Have you suspected that they must participate in an illicit activity? Well, in the story, “Ransom,” the thoughts are made plausible. A new student in the seventh-grade class announces that his parents have a kidnapping business. When they kidnap a local youngster, it turns out that many people are in on it—the grocer, the librarian, church person, and others. The parents of the kidnapped boy provide ransom money, and then all those who are in on it have new-found wealth.
A husband and wife go to a party and come home high in “Symptoms.” In his altered state of mind, the man decides to start tiling the bathroom and cuts his hand. He overreacts to the blood, looks up his symptoms on the internet, and calls 911, stating that he had a heart attack. An ambulance takes him to the hospital where he gets a few stitches, and the doctor tells him that the internet is cancer. He can hardly afford the $4,000 bill, and this whole episode does nothing to improve his marriage or relationship with his children. It seems he might be trying to numb his mind of the fact that he is in over his head with his job, the floor tiling project, and his parental responsibilities.
“Nora’s Sweatshirt” and “Backwater” are two stories about the antics and fears of teenagers. Both are based on possible true-to-life circumstances. “Costuming” is also about a group of adolescents, but not as realistic. Students in a prosthetic mask-making class start to take on different personas after one student, Jordan, seems to lose the identity he might have had without a mask. Everyone eventually changes as the mask assignments progress. I also wondered whether peer pressure is something the author sought to satirize or how we become defined by our work.
In many ways, the title story of this collection, “Golden Gate Jumper Survivors Society,” is the most developed and relatable. All of the members of the society have had failed suicide attempts after jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge, all except its new president. It is disclosed that the new president hadn’t actually tried to jump, and she dares to attempt to change the group’s regular bonding activities. Through the progression of the story, Wilcox showed how susceptible some people are to manipulation, snap judgments that can be made, and also how people really can change their attitudes.
I received this book free from Book Sirens in exchange for a review. I am glad I had the opportunity to read something from a new author.
