My Review of "Baptism: 3 Stories" by Jack Urquhart
Jack Urquhart's "Baptism: 3 Stories (So They Say)" is a brilliant trio of short stories narrated by a young boy who watches life unfold around him in the Florida of the mid-1950s. The boy, Rex, is surrounded by some of the quirkiest, most colorful characters I've come across in a very long time. Mr. Urquhart tells their stories (or rather their cussin', bickerin' and other apostrophe-ridden anecdotes) in a language that takes the reader straight into the leafy, humid summers of a not-quite-idyllic past.
In the first story, "Baptism", Rex describes the highly criticized baptism of the somewhat reviled Grandfather Amos, someone not quite fit for any kind of salvation. Mr. Urquhart uses hilarious and vibrant language to pull readers into a religious ceremony that is more reminiscent of a sacrifice than a last attempt to save a cantankerous sinner.
The second story, "A Heavy Loss", opens with a phrase that addresses more than one character's conundrum: "What if you was attracted to somebody you shouldn't be attracted to?" Maybe it's about Rex's vivacious Aunt Maggie, undeniable love of his life, and maybe it's the dawning of something Rex is still too young - or verbally inexperienced - to understand or express about himself.
In the collection's third story, "How I Come to Know", Rex innocently tells his family about something he saw which he didn't quite understand - and confuses with grownups wrestling. Mr. Urquhart is incredibly skilled at placing his main character in difficult situations well beyond his 9-year-old mind's comprehension, conveying his understanding of the circumstances and countering them with the logic, impatience and intolerance that adults often direct at inquisitive children. It's very refreshing that Mr. Urquhart doesn't write with tongue-in-cheek condescension toward Rex's cluelessness as he makes his way around an adult world.
Rex seems to be on the verge of understanding the nuances of his family: his very pregnant mother's mood swings, her general and constant criticism of Maggie, his father's obvious wariness of the primarily female family dynamics. And everything told from the very unique, undeniably pure voice of a child untouched by the excessive information that makes so many of today's children obnoxiously precocious.
Mr. Urquhart has written a series of striking stories in a colorful, sonorous language seldom found in today's narrative. Kudos to the author for an amazing trio of stories that are a pleasure to read.
Jack UrquhartBaptism 3 Stories
In the first story, "Baptism", Rex describes the highly criticized baptism of the somewhat reviled Grandfather Amos, someone not quite fit for any kind of salvation. Mr. Urquhart uses hilarious and vibrant language to pull readers into a religious ceremony that is more reminiscent of a sacrifice than a last attempt to save a cantankerous sinner.
The second story, "A Heavy Loss", opens with a phrase that addresses more than one character's conundrum: "What if you was attracted to somebody you shouldn't be attracted to?" Maybe it's about Rex's vivacious Aunt Maggie, undeniable love of his life, and maybe it's the dawning of something Rex is still too young - or verbally inexperienced - to understand or express about himself.
In the collection's third story, "How I Come to Know", Rex innocently tells his family about something he saw which he didn't quite understand - and confuses with grownups wrestling. Mr. Urquhart is incredibly skilled at placing his main character in difficult situations well beyond his 9-year-old mind's comprehension, conveying his understanding of the circumstances and countering them with the logic, impatience and intolerance that adults often direct at inquisitive children. It's very refreshing that Mr. Urquhart doesn't write with tongue-in-cheek condescension toward Rex's cluelessness as he makes his way around an adult world.
Rex seems to be on the verge of understanding the nuances of his family: his very pregnant mother's mood swings, her general and constant criticism of Maggie, his father's obvious wariness of the primarily female family dynamics. And everything told from the very unique, undeniably pure voice of a child untouched by the excessive information that makes so many of today's children obnoxiously precocious.
Mr. Urquhart has written a series of striking stories in a colorful, sonorous language seldom found in today's narrative. Kudos to the author for an amazing trio of stories that are a pleasure to read.
Jack UrquhartBaptism 3 Stories
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