I must admit that Ive never been a big reader of the short story. E L Doctorow may have just changed all that. This slim collection of five short stories by an American master and author of The March and Ragtime, packs a lot of punch. The stories seem simple on the surface but deep down they are dark and moody. Life, death, love, deception and murder are just some of the themes that Doctorow throws at you. And while the stories can be read separately they are all linked by a common theme everyday people dealing with higher powers. The standout stories are Jolene: a Life, about a young woman navigating her way through three disastrous marriages; and A House on the Plains, about a murderous mother on the run and the loving son who follows her.
Esther Van Doornum is from Readings Carlton.
