Richard Bausch writes about relationships with rare insight in these short stories. For example, in “Sixty-five Million Years” a Catholic priest is confronted by a teenage boy who doubts the Bible because of the existence of dinosaurs. And the young boy’s doubt creeps into the old priest’s psyche and destabilizes his world. Desperation mixes with passion in “Reverend Thornhill’s Wife” when a preacher’s wife has an affair with a married man she meets on the Internet. Both participants are trapped in sterile marriages and this affair centers on the desperation of two very unhappy people. The title story, “Something Is Out There,” revolves around a family learning that family members are involved in the illegal drug trade. And, during a wild snowstorm, hired killers may be lurking outside the house they’re trapped in. Most of Bausch’s stories end jarringly. If you’re looking for an engagingly contemporary short story collection, give Something Is Out There a try. GRADE: B+
(This completes the March 2010 portion of my Short Story Reading Challenge. I will read and review one short story collection per month in 2010. To find out more about the Short Story Reading Challenge, be sure to click: “http://theshortstorychallenge.blogspot.com/”>Short Story Reading Challenge.
I always enjoy Bausch’s stories. Each one is different and that’s unusual in a collection. I really like to read a collection over a long period or they tend to run together for me. His don’t.
You’re right about Bausch, Patti. He really crafts originality into his stories. Sometimes he tells the story in the first person, sometimes in the third. And Bausch really gets into the heads of his characters.
Another author I need to try. I just read the first collection by an author you recommended, George – Dan Chaon. I have his first novel at hand. It looks somewhat similar in style to the one you reviewed.
I’m currently reading a collection by Mack Reynolds.
I really liked AWAIT YOUR REPLY, Jeff. Let me know what you think of Dan Chaon’s short stories. And, another mole at CTU! What a surprise!
Sounds pretty interesting, though I don’t read a great many non-genre short stories, and have two collections awaiting or partly read. As always, thanks for the great review, George.
Jeff – which Mack Reynolds, the Best of book you ordered? How do you like it?
Although Bausch’s stories are mostly mainstream fiction, some of the stories like “Something Is Out There” have criminal elements, Rick. One of the aspects of Mack Reynolds that I admired was he was one of the few SF writers who would write about economics of the future. Fred Pohl did that, too.
So far I like it a lot, Rick, though I’ve only read a couple of the stories. Yes, it’s the BEST OF.
Nice tone.
I did like Chaon’s first collection, George, though of course I liked some more than others.
Yeah, what a shocker about Dana/Jenny being a mole, right? As someone pointed out, why didn’t she just have her terrorist buddies take care of Kevin for her rather than risk blowing the job at CTU?
I think the writers at 24 just work one scene at a time.
The writing for 24 the past few seasons have been WEAK, Jeff. The whole Dana subplot is stupid. And how does someone with a prison record get to be the Senior Data Analyst at CTU? Give me a break!
I guess those cunning Arab terrorists expunged her criminal record.
But won’t that parole officer’s body start stinking even if it’s hidden in that wall, Jeff?