Water of an Undetermined Depth

January 6, 2003
Blue-collar men and women navigate the great outdoors and the tighter confines of personal relationships in this debut collection of 14 well-crafted stories. In "The Chubs," a college student goes fishing with his father, a factory worker, and comes away with silent permission to follow his own path in life. "Side Job" offers another take on the demands of blue-collar life when a man takes a plumbing job against his better judgment rather than track down his family's escaped canine. "A Girl, the Jungle, Monkeys," a wryly humorous tale about a widower on a vacation in the tropics, takes an alarming turn when the protagonist is attacked by insects and stranded, delirious, in an out-of-the-way village. The title story is a brief gem about a father who worries obsessively about accidents, running through a list of gruesome news stories when his teenage daughter requests permission to go swimming at a local quarry and finally recalling the tragic end of one of his own childhood best friends. Chiappone's succinct, almost abrupt narrative style cuts sharply to the chase, but his spare prose never limits his ability to layer ideas and conceits. Not all of the stories are successful—occasionally the male blue-collar protagonists seem interchangeable, and some of the outdoor material is equally repetitive. But Chiappone's ironic humor differentiates this collection, and his strong voice bodes well for subsequent efforts.

February 1, 2003
Chiappone focuses his attention mostly on men in these 14 short stories, many of which have been previously published in magazines and anthologies. His characters, guys of all ages, are trying to manage their lives and take their minds off their work and their troubles. A teenager skips school and goes fishing for days on end, thus throwing away his chance to attend college and better himself. A man works hard for extra money but fails to find happiness, while his parents have less money but a better attitude. Randy, soon leaving for Vietnam, doesn't know that his girlfriend is unfaithful. Franklin, a plumber, plods through each day with no time for fun. A husband and wife fall for "deals" that never quite pan out. Robert, a recent widower, goes on a jungle boat trip with a young girl while suffering from an intestinal upset. Delton, newly retired, buys a satellite dish that he is determined to install. Each character somehow gets through the day, hoping for a better tomorrow. These stories are stark but well told.-Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, MD

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.