In this collection, Jim Shepard writes about catastrophes. Each of the twelve short stories focuses on a catastrophe, and Shepard creates characters, many of whom are based on real people of the time. He doesn’t necessarily craft each story chronologically, with a beginning, middle, and end; rather, he uses different techniques in each. In the “Village of Islands” about the 1935 Florida hurricane, we meet characters who give us background on how people ended up in the Florida Keys and what the horrible living conditions were like. Then, we learn the reality of the hurricane and the chaos that ensued.
In “Our Day of Grace,” the text consists of a correspondence between William, a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War, and his wife, Lucy. Both report on trying to cope with their unique circumstances and report on elements of war, William experiencing its actual horrors, and his wife attempting to maintain the household without her loved one. In this same story, we read a one-sided letter from Hattie, whose husband, CW, is fighting alongside William. CW doesn’t seem to write, yet Hattie is persistent in communicating. Shepard effectively conveys the realities of the war from a Southern perspective, and the letters underscore how people documented their lives during that era.
One story that will stay with me long after reading the collection is “The Mentally Ill Are Not Alone.” The narrator describes the overwhelming challenges posed by his brother’s mental illness. It is a sobering reminder of the stigma that has long surrounded mental health issues. Particularly disturbing is the story’s depiction of schools that were incapable of meeting the needs of children with disabilities. Although the events take place in the 1960s, and some progress has certainly been made, it is still unsettling to see how much trust the parents placed in a Catholic school ill-equipped to help their son. Shepard is equally critical of the ineffective treatments provided at Yale. The story invites readers to consider how society treats people whose minds work in atypical ways.
In the title story, “Queen of Bad Influences,” Shepard writes about the sinking of the Lusitania. The story features a friendship between two girls on the cusp of adulthood as they try to forge a possibly romantic bond while traveling aboard the Lusitania. At least one survives, and we learn of the catastrophic sinking as we also learn about the catastrophe of the relationship that never completely developed.
Shepard is an engaging writer, and this collection encouraged me to reconsider both well-known historical disasters and the quieter calamities that occur within families, friendships, and communities. His stories prompt reflection not only on the people affected by large-scale tragedies but also on the ways ordinary relationships are tested as individuals struggle to survive the challenges of everyday life.
