"Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events," the short story that gives Kevin Moffett's collection its title is, on the surface, about a man and his father--both writers, one published and one not, with the shadow of one deceased woman hanging over them. They're looking to lessen their anxiety, like many of Moffett's other characters, whether they're newlyweds, wrestling with their unfamiliar new roles, in a car with an unbearable stench of dead animal, or an impoverished man facing a delicate choice regarding a swallowed tooth crown he cannot afford to replace. The anxiety and uncertainty of these stories are leavened with a wry, dry sense of humor that doesn't mock the characters' predicaments. The situations these characters find themselves in are serious, yet Moffett's understanding of their foibles and predicaments enable him to locate the figurative gold crown among the... other material.
This may sound like Moffett written a series of stories straight out of 1950s cinema, but his sense of humor more closely hews to a mix of world-weary sarcasm and the dark comedy of an emergency room crisis worker, finding the silver lining that will make it possible to get through another day. Not all of the stories in Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events end with this silver lining located, but readers for whom a well-written piece of fiction can serve to point the way will find what they are looking for in its pages. --Matthew Tiffany, counselor, writer for Condalmo