Not Safe, but Good (Vol. 2): Short Stories Sharpened by Faith

by Bret Lott (Editor)

In C.S. Lewis's classic The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe , Lucy asks if Aslan the lion is safe. It is quickly clarified that Aslan is not safe...but he is good. That concept serves as the foundation for this collection of short stories. While written from a Christian worldview, our goal isn't comfort food for Christians or G-rated stories that offer simplistic lessons. Instead, we're serving up stories sharpened by faith. Stories that will engage, challenge, entertain, and stretch the reader. These stories aren't necessarily safe...but without question, they are good. The stories in this book--from such outstanding Chrstian writers as Jerry Jenkins, Michael Morris, Sally John, and the editor Bret Lott--are by no means safe. Like the parables of Christ, they surprise, unsettle, and even shock. They depict doubt, loss, abandonment, failure, and betrayal as well as elation and triumph. But they also deeply and meaningfully explore the human condition in relation to a God who loves us and brings us joy and hope.

Genres: Fiction, Christian

274 pages, Paperback

First published July 10, 2007

About the author

Bret Lott is the bestselling author of fourteen books, most recently the nonfiction collection Letters and Life: On Being a Writer, On Being a Christian (Crossway 2013) and the novel Dead Low Tide (Random House 2012). Other books include the story collection The Difference Between Women and Men, the nonfiction book Before We Get Started: A Practical Memoir of the Writer’s Life, and the novels Jewel, an Oprah Book Club pick, and A Song I Knew by Heart. His work has appeared in, among other places, The Yale Review, The New York Times, The Georgia Review and in dozens of anthologies.

Born in Los Angeles, he received his BA in English from Cal State Long Beach in 1981, and his MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1984, where he studied under James Baldwin. From 1986 to 2004 he was writer-in-residence and professor of English at The College of Charleston, leaving to take the position of editor and director of the journal The Southern Review at Louisiana State University. Three years later, in the fall of 2007, he returned to The College of Charleston and the job he most loves: teaching.

His honors include being named Fulbright Senior American Scholar and writer-in-residence to Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv, speaking on Flannery O’Connor at The White House, and having served as a member of the National Council on the Arts from 2006 to 2012. Currently he is nonfiction editor of the journal Crazyhorse. He and his wife, Melanie, live in South Carolina.

Reviews

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a book of short stories by different authors, it's always going to be an eclectic mix. Some are wonderful, some have less of an appeal. These are finely honed works with tucked-in surprises, works that straddle the uncomfortable space where real world meets the spiritual realm and there are often awkward answers.

The two stories that spoke to me were The Flowers Fall and Turn Left, Turn Right. The first was just perfect in its evocation and length. The second flipped the trope of the lost letter on its head.

I very much liked the other stories but I wanted them all to be longer.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book to encourage your faith in short-story form. This selection of short stories is perfect to pick up and choose a story from to read in one sitting, and as always with Bret Lott's books, I'm never disappointed.

[Rhonnie Cough · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story collections like this are my favorite. There are a couple in here that didn't really resonate with me. But I loved the very human themes woven throughout: forgiveness, redemption, sorrow...all done pretty subtly. I especially loved The Flowers Fall--it made me almost cry--and Turn Right, Turn Left; The Laying Out.