This Is Not the Tropics: Stories

by Ladette Randolph

The stories collected in This Is Not the Tropics come from the geographic center of a divided nation, and its protagonists evoke a split personality—one half submerged in America’s own diehard mythology, the other half searching to escape tradition. Together they form a portrait of the Plains that is both quirky and poignant. While the themes in this collection are familiar—love and betrayal, loneliness and regret, the needs of the individual versus the needs of the community—the stories themselves are startling and new. Whether it is the story of an eccentric, out-of-work accordion player; a woman ending a long marriage against the backdrop of a visit from her failing mother; a young girl who wishes to solve a mystery until real mystery enters her life; two sisters who watch as their mother battles an entire town, including their father; a man who comes to be suspicious of his new girlfriend’s stalker story; or all of the men in a small Nebraska town who annually compete in a hilariously earnest beauty pageant, these are tales that speak of the lives lived in the small towns, the prairie cities, and on the dirt roads off blue highways in the middle of nowhere and everywhere.

Genres: Short Stories

292 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2005

About the author

Ladette Randolph is an American author and editor.

The editor-in-chief of Ploughshares, she is also on the faculty at Emerson College and is co-owner of the manuscript consulting firm Randolph Lundine.

She has been the recipient of a grant from the Rona Jaffe Foundation, as well as a Pushcart Prize, a Virginian Faulkner Award, and three Nebraska Book Awards.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Elsbeth Magilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Randolph is a Nebraska author. I’m passionate about where I come from and (apart from my scifi and fantasy bend) I love stories of everyday life and characters from every age/walk of life. As such, I really wanted to like this collection. Generally speaking it left me “meh.” The stories were usually mildly depressing without ever going full fledged traumatic - leaving me waiting for a shoe to drop that never came. It felt reflective of real life (yay!) but in tone the stories were bleak at worst and often a bit too slow bordering on boring. She tackled small town life to the unique “city life” in Nebraska’s only cities. I think this book is an accurate portrayal of many Nebraskans and our homes, but I also believe it failed to explain why living here is remarkable. The subtle beauty of the plains. The sturdy, reliable people. She touched on everything that makes us hard to love while failing to show our strength.

[Renee Goldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not the Tropics

I enjoyed this novel by Ladette Randolph. It told the story of a family settling in the prairie. It was interesting to read. I recommend this novel. Renee Goldberg rgoldberg227@gmail.com

[SJ L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the tropics
These stories celebrate the everyday hero and show the significance of everyday situations. From the woman who lives in the dark, to the woman who receives two dozen flowers every Valentine’s Day from her gay friend, you have some seemingly real characters pop off the page here in small town America. Not to compare her to Flannery O, because not all female short story writers should have to be compared to Flannery O, but there are some similarities. Short, stark, poignant stories that make you go whoa while based in everday settings. However, unlike O’Conner, Randolph treats the ordinary as opposed to out of the ordinary situations. Mainly female characters (there is one male protagonist, but the story centers around a scenario with a female character so still mainly female), not that I’m knocking a female author focusing on female characters, I’d just like to point it out. I focus on mainly male characters, so it’s interesting to hear the other side. They range in age, and it’s interesting that she is able to embody their thoughts so compellingly. I need to get better at exploring the everyday as opposed to just the bizarre and extraordinary, she shines in two areas that I don’t. Stories that build up in intensity. A fair amount of internal dialogue, damn good story teller. Giving it 4 instead of 5 stars because I’d like to see what else this author is capable of, but a 4.5 stars might be a better rating.


Quotes:
“That’s just it. You don’t know. You just have to live and be stupid and suffer.” 53 (Interesting if you think about it this way, life is really the process of learning suffering and loosing the youthful childhood innocence you are born with. So then the question for an adult is, be a pessimist or be positive?)
[Perspective of a young girl who is putting her foot down, so to speak] All of them were a bit in awe of me that day, and it was the first glimpse I had of the power of my will. (There is much to be said for the power of the will of the female folk. Quite compelling, says a man who is compelled every now and then.) 73
Mother’s eye flashed, “Oh am I?” I saw in that moment what my Father must have seen that day he first came upon her in the hills, that half-wild, fierce creature. 134
The party was everything Becca had feared and worse…Tinkly New Age music played on the stereo and people bunched into corners watching the door critically for newcomers. 163
She was temped not to go inside but had nowhere else to go, belonged nowhere but to that house. 188
The small lie he felt was so essential to the fabric of an intimate relationship, but as soon as he hung up the phone, continuing in the vein of his disbelief, he made some excuse to leave the office and drove straight to her street where he parked out of view from her window. 243
Alice is finally going to have a child. Her mother thinks back to that quiet house with its perfectly pressed doilies against the backs of chairs with arms still new. So much peace to give up. Alice doesn’t know that yet. 272

[Kelly Buntin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clapping hands blue ribbon collection of short stories. The Blue Room ,final story in this collection is the perfect "last bite" of this spiced layer cake. Like when something tastes so good you want to eat it all as quickly as possible yet also want to chew each bite a thousand times to not miss any bit of flavor or texture. That is what this quiet, contemplation of life as it is and as it probably is if one took the time to pause for deep breath collection of short stories was for this reader. A great ending to my reading experiences for the year 2014. Now, I must await the next sharing of words from this author as I have read all that I can find that has been published to date. Brava, Laudette Randolph. Thank you for sharing your artwork.

[Jeanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this because Ms. Randolph is considered a "Nebraska Author" and the stories were to be about Nebraska. Collections of short stories are not usually something I would choose to read, but I wanted to give it a try. I liked the first short story; the second story, not so much.

I read somewhere that as an author, you should never "kill the dog." This author killed a dog in a horrific way in the second short story--and I didn't really think it had anything to do with the story. I guess I'm not "hip" enough to figure it out. So, I didn't read anymore after that.