Consignment

by Joan Elizabeth Bauer

When a ne’er-do-well cousin dies unexpectedly, Mary Ellen and Charles Hawley agree to take his young son Steven into their home. The boy’s birth mother, who is mentally ill, has already inflicted some psychological damage, but Mary Ellen is determined to help Steven start over. This act of charity soon takes its toll on a marriage that is already quietly fading. As Mary Ellen struggles to adapt to new parenting challenges, she begins to withdraw from her husband and cling to their two-year-old daughter. Finally, in a fit of longing for her former life, Mary Ellen indulges herself in a shopping trip and misses an afternoon pickup from school. And Charles, who must take up the slack, discovers a secret.

56 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2023

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the short story “Consignment” by Joan Bauer. I was draw to this because it is narrated by “Virtual Voice”, a computer-generated narration. The narration sounded realistic.

It’s a short about a couple who take in a young male relative when his father dies, and his mother is mentally ill. They have a two-year-old daughter. The boy is the husband, Charles’s, family member. Mary Ellen agrees, and she is left with him during the day. Mary Ellen is a stay-at-home mother, and Charles works. The time of this story is never mentioned, but it must be in the 1950’s when women were subservient to their men.

Mary Ellen misses her former life, the possibilities it held. Marriage to Charles rendered Mary Ellen to a less sophisticated lifestyle. Her hampered life comes to a head once she is forced to care for the boy.

This is an almost 2 hours listen. It’s interesting. It’s an average listen.

[Teresa]

This was not written by the Joan Bauer attached to this book, but by Joan Elizabeth Bauer. https://joanelizabethbauer.com/ If any Goodreads librarian sees this and would like to fix it, I’d be grateful, as I’m sure this Joan would be as well.

Her “novelette” is an immersive, suspenseful read, and with great characters. It’s an excerpt from an unpublished novel that I discovered afterward will be published next year. I’m looking forward to finding out more about Steven, the character I’m most invested in.