Jill McCorkle's Old Crimes dispels any skepticism about short stories feeling "complete." Her 12th book--and fifth story collection--offers 12 tales that include misdeeds ranging from child abuse to withholding truths, rich with wry dialogue and insights into lives shaped by moments that can resonate for years.
McCorkle (Hieroglyphics; Life After Life) presents characters whose circumstances evolve from the mundane to the intriguing: a strange little girl interrupts a college couple's afternoon lovemaking at a seedy motel in "Old Crimes"; a lonely older woman embraces her hearing loss, ignoring her dying husband as she recalls his abuses in "Low Tones"; and in "Filling Station," a successful businessman rents his grandparents' run-down former house, escaping his wife and home for peaceful solitude.
There's dark humor, as in the couple who buy an antique confessional and begin a game of sharing admissions, discovering that "there was no end to the well of secrets." Each of the 12 entries is distinctive, but McCorkle incorporates links, illustrating how time, circumstances, and point of view dramatically affect a story. In non-consecutive entries, readers discover that the businessman and the elderly woman share a significant connection. The brash, colorful waitress from "Commandments" reappears as the protagonist in "Baby in the Pan," revealing an ongoing contentious relationship with her mother. These unexpected and compelling repeat appearances will send readers back to reread, and to savor the skillful writing of a first-rate storyteller. --Cheryl McKeon, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y.