The Gateway: Stories

by T.M. McNally

T. M. McNally’s subject in the seven stories in this, his third story collection, is love, always love. For him, these are religious stories for skeptics who are spiritually inclined.

In Bastogne,” a middle-aged son visiting the French countryside where his father was wounded in World War II pursues his father’s early ghosts, along with some of his own. In Given,” the father of the lovely Annabella determines to provide a means of escape for his cherished daughter who has made a drastic mistake in her choice of a husband. And in the title story, a man and his wife celebrate their wedding anniversary in Paris where he muses about the bittersweet vagaries of his life and loves and about his wife’s younger days in the City of Light.

Genres: Short Stories

232 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2007

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled between three and four stars here. McNally's stories are best when inner conflict is mirrored by physical action or movement. Sometimes, his strong sense of voice overcame the plot, and I found myself wishing for something...anything...to happen. But his talent to capture the suburban wasteland of my hometown is right on, and for that, I cheer him.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

My current favorite story (of any I have read lately) is the first story in this book, "Bastogne." I am taken with the first person narrators in this collection, all of them, somehow. And I feel like every story is showing me something new about writing.

[Lyndsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason, I struggled to get through this book. I really enjoyed "Given" and "Open my Heart," but I found "The Gateway" and "Bastogne" hard to finish. It has some plodding points for me... and even though I liked some of the stories, I never felt like I couldn't put the book down.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

g read

[Peg]

Finalist 2008 Pen/Faulkner award for Fiction