The Stories of Mary Gordon

by: Mary Gordon

Published by: Mary Gordon

Reviewed by Shawn Remfrey

This engrossing collection of tales is a must have for everyone’s bookshelf. Each short story is exquisitely written and well-crafted with Mary Gordon’s personal style. Whether the reader is wanting a quick entertaining story, or in-depth literature to study, Mary Gordon delivers.

Each story deals with the human condition; thoughts, emotions, actions and where each of those leads us. The most popular theme throughout the book is disillusionment. There are also tales of hopelessness, depression, alcoholism. My favorite two stories involve an elderly woman forced to see her favorite place through the eyes of her daughter in law, and a woman forced to look at her husband through her own eyes. These stories give each person a chance to examine his or her own life.

Mary Gordon’s characters are alive and become dear. Vivid imagery helps lose oneself in a world that could easily belong to anyone else, too. In a space of five to ten pages, an entire story unfolds, leaving a sense of completion. Through one snippet of a character’s life, the reader has a sense of that person’s past, future and all that makes them up.

At first I was skeptical about Mary Gordon’s talent, having never read anything written by her before. I quickly learned that you truly can’t judge a book by it’s cover. I was captivated from story to story. Each character, literally, made me identify and sympathize with them. This collection kept me in emotional turmoil until the end. I fully intend to search for every Mary Gordon book I am able to find and spread the word about this gem.

Mary Gordon comes from an interesting heritage mix of Jewish and Irish Catholic. Most of her stories reflect her upbringing. She currently teaches composition and creative writing at a community college. Mary Gordon’s most recent published book is Circling My Mother: A Memoir. This nonfiction book tells the story of her mother as Mary was growing up. In 1996 Mary Gordon wrote a similar book in her father’s memory, The Shadow Man.

Armchair Interviews says: Wonderful to know about a first-rate book of short stories.