Just down the lane in Michigan
I’m not a big reader of collections of stories, I’d just rather dig into a novel and get into the flow of things. I had read one of Bonnie Jo’s novels and I really enjoyed it and this collection sounded like it had some interesting stories in it so I thought I would give it a go. Set in Michigan, these stories cover the lives of a variety of folks with plenty of issues. Some of their stories are short and some of them take a while to read but they were all worth it. A few of my favorites are: In The Yard Man, Jerry is memorized by a snake that has slithered into his yard. Being the caretaker of the property is serious business for Jerry, more so than his marriage to his wife and kids. Life seems to move along slowly but things are happening so quickly. It’s Jerry’s mentality that makes this story so interesting to me. Drugs, they are a problem everywhere and not just in Michigan and in story The Solution to Brian’s Problem, Brian has written out seven solutions to solve his problems at home. His wife Connie is addicted to meth, need I say more. Brian has had enough and has narrowed it down to seven possible solutions to help get himself and their child to safety. As you read through them you find some of solutions that he wants to take are extreme or intense and yet some of them are quite sensible but they all make you think. I even laughed at a few of them, not because they are funny but because how extreme they seemed to be. You can feel the desperation in his writing. So many interesting stories about people and their lives, not fancy folk just plain individuals just down the lane in Michigan. I’ll definitely be reading another Bonnie Jo book soon!
