Guernica
Review by Brian Tanguay
Competitive or recreational swimming is a tableau for most of the nineteen stories in this collection, along with family conflict, failed love and humanoids with attitude. In the first story, “The Trouble With Roger” we encounter Roger, a humanoid whose programming is off kilter. Roger’s filled with rage and jealousy, complains about his domestic chores, and rails against the technicians who try to manipulate his “emotional grid.” If unhinged machines like Roger are the future world of AI helpers or companions, we may need to think twice. Or three times.
Short story writers must get to the emotional core of a story quickly, showing the reader what’s at stake, unresolved or troubling. Even though some of these stories are no more than a few pages long, Alison Gadsby succeeds in getting to the heart of the matter. Most of her characters are unhappy, lost, or grieving, life isn’t working out as they wish it would. “I’d rather be in the water than anywhere else,” writes the protagonist of “Swimming.” “I dive deep to watch the swimmers above me.” While nursing a newborn the protagonist imagines puncturing her breasts with a paring knife. So much for a joyous scene of new motherhood. This suffering wife and mother would be fine if she could live in the water, but of course she can’t. What she wants more than anything is to swim into her eccentric mother’s arms one last time, safe from the turbulence on the surface.
A dark tone pervades these stories. In “I Don’t Want To Fall, But I Do,” a woman has been kidnapped off the street and shoved in the trunk of a car. Is she screaming to high heaven? No, she’s laughing. “I choke on a chuckle, spit my tooth out the side of my mouth, and start laughing. I can’t help myself.” With her life in the balance all she can perceive is the absurdity of the situation, the clownish and stereotypical nature of her assailants, a pair of Beavis and Butthead types. In the title story, Kristina and Darren engage in a bitter argument on their way to dinner with Chuck, Darren’s wildly misogynistic boss. Knowing that golf, NASCAR and oral sex will be discussed, Kristina wants nothing to do with it. Can’t blame her. Chuck is the kind of man who asserts that blow jobs are the measure of a good woman. Yikes.
No happy endings or easy resolutions here. The pool may seem inviting and safe, but in Alison Gadsby’s world, the water isn’t necessarily so. There’s no lifeguard on duty. Swim at your own risk.
