Close Call: Stories

by Kim Suhr

A door-to-door salesman's visit shows Carol a new side of her mother and threatens the security they both had taken for granted; a woman finds out what happens when we're "too busy to die"; a woman in her fifties celebrates her newly augmented body parts; four friends try to breech a chasm in their friendship by planning a reunion; and a researcher examines his relationship to creativity in a world where it has been deemed a mental illness. Carefully crafted, surprising, and humane, the stories in Kim Suhr's Close Call unveil emotion in tight spaces, hearts in turmoil, and the searching soul of the Midwest.

210 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[Rachel Enright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to try to write an unbiased review, but who knows whether it'll actually be unbiased. Kim's writing is mesmerizing. The collection from "The Dip" is unlike anything I've read before. What truly blows me away is the diverse nature of her stories. There's a little bit of everything here. Truly a masterful study in short stories.

[Katie Grandprey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I loved. The author crafts each short story with Midwest themes (and fears) everyone is thinking and no one wants to talk about. A few sections made me think, “This is the Wisconsin book version of Black Mirror.” Some of the stories I couldn’t wait to talk about, others left me staring at the wall thinking nothing but “woah.” Will definitely seek out more from this author.

[Mary Schreiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

My midwestern writing/reading friends won't want to miss Kim Suhr's newly released book of short stories CLOSE CALL. It's about "emotion in tight spaces, hearts in turmoil, and the searching soul of the Midwest."

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Close Call captivates with one look. The stunning cover art featuring a red telephone receiver, untethered from its cradle, dropped at the end of its cord. Abandoned, the receiver rests on the floor near a dark shadow, setting the tone for the tales that follow. Stories about close calls, narrow misses, inevitable disappointments, and unavoidable failures. The cover compels us to pick up Close Call and open it, but from the first sentence, it’s Suhr’s vivid writing and intelligent, masterful storytelling that seal the deal and keep us turning the pages. Suhr promises us her collection will be exquisitely crafted, with every word, turn of phrase, and sentence essential in creating her nuanced characters and the thorny situations they face. And she delivers.

Suhr serves up slices of life with intriguing, thought-provoking characters who face conundrums that will either be their undoing or their salvation. Carol, a young girl, works to save her parents’ marriage after a traveling salesman comes calling on her mother. A young married man experiences a new twist on the seven-year itch. Mrs. Morrison, once an artist but now a wife and mother, has lost her sense of self inside a calendar. Allan, an illusionist, has an unusual gift beyond ordinary magic tricks. Deena’s struggles, from childhood to adulthood, are revealed through a series of phone conversations that take place at significant moments in her life. Keith, a DMV employee, has a special talent with a camera. Isabelle, a newlywed, reconsiders her relationship with God after a tragic accident. Willie, a first-grader, gets caught up in a terrifying game of pretend. Dean, a young hockey player, meets Arnie, an old rink rat, who lives for the game of hockey.

At the end of her collection, Suhr gives us two longer stories to savor, “The Dip” and “Eradicated.” “The Dip” is about four women who have known each other since childhood. Now in their fifties, they struggle to maintain their friendship. The story is written through a series of DMs, emails, a Google doc, texts, a poem, scripts, online chat room comments, and an obituary. It takes superb writing skills to pull off this type of story, and Suhr’s talent as a writer shines through.

With “Eradicated” Suhr presents a dystopian tale set in the future where artistic creativity is labeled a disease, which needs to be eradicated, a goal that is nearly complete when we meet Dr. Bells, a scientist. Wishing to observe creative artists before the last of them dies out, the doctor visits an artists’ colony where creative people, who are considered to have “disturbed minds,” have been contained after being extracted from society. The story is both timely and timeless.

Each of Suhr’s stories presents a fresh take on love, hate, jealousy, faith, loss, fear, conformity, and disappointment. Her ability to tell stories with unique characters, interesting plots, and captivating complications gives readers a look at human nature in a different way. Suhr’s stories are a literary treat.

[Mary Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In colloquial language, Suhr captures the essence of the modern day human experience. Per the acknowledgements at the end, many of her short stories are critically acclaimed, and with good reason. Her stories resonate, and pluck on the heartstrings. Everyone reading this collection can find a plot or storyline that hits a nerve. Suhr artistically explores the range of emotions involved in navigating the ups and downs of relationships with those we share space with, day to day. (In lieu of a recent, successful DMV experience, Pretty People was my favorite short story to read!)

[Ashley Posthuma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a thoughtful and well-assembled collection of short stories. Each one left me wanting more...which was probably the point.

[Jane Cawthorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories have something for everyone. Suhr is a master of short story craft and a keen observer of human nature. The combination is evident in every line of Close Call. Characters feel like people we know or have met somewhere—kids at school, parents who aren’t paying enough attention, the guy at the DMV, the couple down the hall. They are all brought to life by Suhr’s uncanny knack for detail. “Pay Phone” is particularly inventive. Suhr never shies away from the uncomfortable or the potential disaster lurking around the corner, like the child deciding to get his dad’s gun from the night stand. Things happen that are both surprising and entirely plausible. Some of the stories make me squirm, others make me laugh out loud, and others are so poignant. Some are all three at once. This would be a great book to give to that “hard to please”or “hard to buy for” person on your list.

[Susan Fiebig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing short stories that make you laugh, cry and think deeply about the world around you.

[Bruce Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Close Call: Stories” offers insightful, arresting, and literate journeys into worlds both familiar and hidden. Readers learn to trust the author as she leads them through unexpected and awkward encounters in doctor’s offices, the DMV, a hockey rink, church basements, and a future sanitarium for people deemed dangerous to society. The offerings vary in length, and the book includes short stories, an interwoven set of creative pieces, and a powerful novella. Each piece is engaging and surprising and the endings, in particular, stun.

I preordered my copy from the publisher. Support indie publishing!

[Jennifer Rupp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what I love about Kim Suhr’s stories and it’s the only way I can think of to describe them: Suhr writes stories about weird and uncommon encounters experienced by everyday people. The situations, relationships, reactions, and retellings are completely believable, relatable. In any story, you can see yourself, or a relative, a friend, a neighbor. The characters in these stories aren’t strangers, really. They are people you know. They just have different names and live in different places, but you know them. Some might say Suhr opens doors to other people’s lives so you can be a fly on the wall. I would go one step further. She opens their closets and lets you try on their clothes. In addition to pulling readers into the lives of others, she plays with form, stretches her imaginative tendons, flexes her creative muscle. And I think this is what elevates her collection. It’s what makes setting her book down difficult and picking it up again a treat. It’s a book you’ll want to give as a gift and one you’ll want to return to time after time.

[Megan McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love short stories, so when I heard that Kim Suhr had a second book, I ordered from Lions Tooth, the indy bookstore down the street from me.

These stories are delightful! So playful and bursting with vivid details. Some are standard prose but a few are in other forms: theatrical scripts, a series of emails and texts, an obituary, an online message board. I think my favorite was Eradicated because it gave me Harrison Bergeron vibes and I LOVE Kurt Vonnegut.

I'm in my late 40s and think other GenXers will especially enjoy some of the characters (old friends arranging a hangout) and references (pay phones!). But honestly, this book would be a great gift for anyone who likes reading, is short on time, and would enjoy some tales that celebrate humanity's quirks.

[Marie Zhuikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing offering of short stories by a Wisconsin author. Many deal with current issues like school violence, the stress of overscheduling, transphobia, and political divisiveness. I greatly enjoyed the book's section called "The Dip." It's one long story, told in several different ways: an email exchange, a poem, screen play treatments, an online prayer request forum, and an obituary. That was new to me and so creative! The last story deals with the dangers of artistic thought and practice in a world where such "Artism" is banned. I like that the book ends on a hopeful note.

[Joanne Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kim Suhr’s second collection of stories is the perfectly titled, Close Call. Her characters routinely knock on the door of bad choices and invite themselves into all sorts of trouble. Suhr’s ability to let her characters find their own way through their messes makes for powerful and unique outcomes. Suhr takes on a wide variety of voices in her collection and her words hum across the pages in these stories worth sharing with a friend and reading again.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an entertaining and thought-provoking read! Kim Suhr's stories are often permeated with a sense of foreboding, even when they are about seemingly everyday subjects--a magician performing at a party, children playing school, lifetime friends getting together at a cabin for the weekend. This tension creates great forward momentum, but it is somehow also balanced with humor and pathos. Some stories end with a twist, others with a satisfying resonance.

[Sara S · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s amazing to me that the same person authored all the stories in “Close Call.” Kim Suhr has a way of slipping in to the personas of such wildly different characters and making you accept them as real. Do yourself the favor of reading this book.