After the Gazebo

After the Gazebo is a collection of short stories by Jen Knox. They flow together so well I thought at first they were all part of the same story. They deal with the human heart and relationships. One of the stories I really like is "The Snowstorm" which is a man against nature story in this case a bad storm what I guess would be a blizzard. But it's more than that; it's also about the relationship dynamics people go through in a crisis situation like this. Another story I enjoyed was "Scratching Silver" though when it first began I didn't think I would. It's a story about a man coming back after many years to see his child whom he has never seen before. There were only two stories I didn't really care for. I really enjoy Knox's writing style, and though this is the first book I've read by her, I will definitely read more. It's easy to see why she has won so many awards for her writing. Thank you for Jen Knox, Rain Mountain Press, and Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book! Check it out for an entertaining read!

Lovely, lovely short stories - some so short that they are more vignettes than short stories. They feel real and the characters despite (or thanks to) their flaws feel close. It's easy to feel empathy for them; and the writing - clean, precise, poetic but nearly clinical in some stories - was really pleasant to read. Some stories were better than others, but I liked finding characters from one in another. They feel like something someone would tell you in a coffee shop, something heard from a friend of a friend.

The stories in Jen Knox's After the Gazebo are eclectic, but unified in tone. They are stories of people who have been beaten up by a hard world, but have been left with a sense of hope. Sometimes the characters make bad decisions, but often these are tales of circumstances that build up and overwhelm. The subjects include topics such as substance abuse, the problems of aging, abusive relationships, raging storms, car accidents, and so many others. But the writing is character oriented with the focus not on what happens as much as it is on how it impacts the people.

These stories capture the essence of what it is like to live a hard life making bad decisions. These stories are realistic and the writing was spellbinding.