In the Not Quite Dark: Stories

by Dana Johnson

Following her prize-winning collection Break Any Woman Down , Dana Johnson returns with a collection of bold stories set mostly in downtown Los Angeles that examine large issues –love, class, race – and how they influence and define our most intimate moments. In “The Liberace Museum,” a mixed-race couple leave the South toward the destination of Vegas, crossing miles of road and history to the promised land of consumption; in “Rogues,” a young man on break from college lands in his brother’s Inland Empire neighborhood during a rash of unexplained robberies; in “She Deserves Everything She Gets,” a woman listens to the strict advice given to her spoiled niece about going away to college, reflecting on her own experience and the night she lost her best friend; and in the collection’s title story, a man setting down roots in downtown L.A. is haunted by the specter of both gentrification and a young female tourist, whose body was found in the water tower of a neighboring building.

With deep insight into character, intimate relationships, and the modern search for personal freedom, In the Not Quite Dark is powerful new work that feels both urgent and timeless.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Read For School, School

225 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2016

Reviews

[Kaylin (The Re-Read Queen) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I hate rating collections. Especially collections like THIS, where some of the stories are legit fantastic and some are meh.

[Erin Hovendon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read enough short stories this year to recognize there will always be strengths and weaknesses within an author’s collection, and this was no different. Overall, Johnson’s use of detail is wonderful, and her writing takes on an intriguing observational quality as she urges the reader to consider the history of their surroundings and recognize the legacy of people who came before them. The highlight for me was The Liberace Museum, which delicately chronicled feelings of disconnect within a multiracial marriage. A recurrent detail I enjoyed was Johnson’s description of life in cities and specifically apartment buildings: she noted something comforting in the feeling of having other people go about their lives above, below, and all around you.

There were several stories I found to be less engaging, and a few leaned too heavily on incorporating the history of LA—although interesting on its own, I found this led to a lack of clear plot or emotional arc in parts of the collection.

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection starts strong and ends stronger, but the stories in the middle have a vacuous quality about them. Well, there are only eleven stories in all, most centered in and around Los Angeles and touching on race, relationships and issues of class. The work is very readable and the prose is sparse in a good way. Stories "Rogues " and "The Story Of Biddy Mason" are standouts, and "Two Crazy Whores" kind of typifies the collection. Characters confronting their present and the past, and determining how this intersection impacts their future.
A solid 3.5 stars.

[Keith Rosson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's hardly a misstep in this thing. A searing, funny, tough as hell collection that explores race, class, sex, family and geography. Big questions are tackled without seeming cloying or overwrought. Voice and dialogue are terrific, and I wish I could write about my city with the same vacillating combo of love and detachment that Johnson writes about Los Angeles. Recommended.

[Izzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

very engaging, finished during my creative writing class

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the not so quiet Dark

Rogues -I liked the Characters. I can really see the relationship between Kenny and JJ. I feel like I knew them. The neighborhood came to life for me. She did a great job putting me right smack in the middle of it from the gate. What are we willing to overlook to get what we need?


Sunshine- Ah, young stupid love. I’ll find myself thinking of ex boyfriends and think “what were you thinking”? I guess that’s why they call them growing pains. I actually liked Bobby. He was just being a dumb horny boy diluting the pain of loosing his brother. Incompetent when it comes to expressing emotions.

Now in the Not quite dark-Well that was depressing & I’m not a big fan of depressing. Don’t like endings like that. My first job was at a subway sandwich on the corner of 5th and hill smack in the middle of where this story takes place. I always found those old buildings beautiful on the outside. This story gave me an eerie feeling about the past in a way I never felt when I looked at those buildings.

Because that’s just easier- I think this was a pretty accurate take on today’s society, how we’ve become so desensitized. As I read the story, I felt like the little girl. It reminded me of discussions my husband and I have about what to shied or expose my son to. I also felt guilty. I preach about helping to my son, but I am that mom who has become cynical. It hard not to be when you see so much crap.

Buildings talk – Again a little depressing. Something about those old downtown buildings as a setting that gives it an eerie feel. Reminded me of my landlord that I hated until he left and then I missed him in a weird way. I guess because he was part of the memories I had made there regardless of him being a jerk.

Art is always and Everywhere the secret Confessor –This describes a lot of people I know in L.A. Always the critic, but aren't we all? Reminded me of my friend that fights so hard for animal rights, is vegan, bitches about us eating anything that has a mother yet serves steak at the restaurant .Ang what could be more L.A than the Grove?

Th Liberace museum- Great characters. Gave me a glimpse into inter-racial relationship and how the past can become our internal dialogue that shapes us.

She deserves everything she gets- Been there done that. I’ve been the one receiving advice and now the one giving it. The cycle of life. Including the judgey bit.

Two crazy whores – I enjoyed this story the most. A great depiction of growing up and growing pains. I enoyed how the story related the girl on the plane to her own relationship with her daughter as well as he childhood seamlessly.

The story of Biddy Mason – I’m not sure if I was tired by the time I got to Biddy Mason, but I felt a change in her writing here and that could have been intentional. It was a little slow for me and I’m not a big history person anyway. Not my favorite among the collection.


Overall as a collection
She writes with effortless ease. I loved how this collection showcased L.A, the good ,the bad and the ugly. She’s especially great with character development. I felt like I knew each one of them or have met someone like them in the past. I’d get lost in the story and then she would mention Diamond bar or the San Fernando Valley and I’d get thrown off a bit. In a good way. It made the story more relatable knowing these places. A great read on our culture that didn’t feel like it was forced. There was a flow about them. Subtle yet bold. It was strange to have L.A portrayed in some of the downtown stories. All those familiar places that I’ve passed by a thousand times will never look the same again. It Gave me a new eyes and appreciation for the Los Angles. She tackled race, relationships, the old and the new, the past and the future and intertwined them nicely. I did favor some more than others. Among my likes were Rogues, Because it’s just easier, Two crazy whores. What other stories could be lurking in the shadow of L.A?

[Vonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I endlessly adore Dana Johnson's work because she keeps introducing us to Black women we don't see anywhere else: awkward middle-class ones dating white boys and feeling conflicted about it, strippers in a literary context, gentrifiers. There's always some twist I wasn't expecting, which makes me both admiring and envious of Johnson's talent.

[Blake Buchholz · Rating 2 out of 5]

4/10
Nothing crazy good. Had some fun stories about LA people and things. Some attempts made at political statements that seemed kinda forced. Most of the stories were not for me, but the ones I did enjoy hit it out of the park.

[Akilah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid collection that I found pretty impulsively readable (as in, I would start a story and then just read the whole thing.) Almost all of them are about tough choices and shitty relationships, so, you know, life.

The weakest link for me was probably the title story, but, overall, I liked all of the stories--probably because they all have that thread of loneliness and melancholy throughout. However, the collection isn't without hope as the last story is super forward looking while celebrating the past.

[Brittany Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection. Dana Johnson is funny, lithe, original, and the stories assembled here contain such a love letter to Los Angeles--possibly the only book that's made me feel like I want to see downtown LA. Had the rare scrummy feeling of reading characters that remind me of me/my family/people I grew up. "The Liberace Museum" was a standout (yessss to this articulate depiction of interracial relationship anxieties) and I also adored "No Blaming the Harvard Boys" and its wander-y hazy party scene. Voice-y, nuanced, WHEELHOUSE, a writer I'll be following.

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a couple stories demonstrate, Johnson is a great observational writer. But too many of these stories feel didactic, making broad points about history at the expense of any granularity or particularity about actual lived experience. Even the final story, "The Story of Biddy Mason," which has the bones of a great story, feels too pointed, airless, instructive, never quite capturing the magic and suffering of the titular character's journey.

[Morgan Miller-Portales · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘In the Not Quite Dark’ by Dana Johnson is a superb collection of short stories. Set mostly against the backdrop of downtown LA, in all its grittiness and myriad changes, it triumphantly portrays the complexities of race, womanhood and LA, whilst delving ever deeper into the definition of history and our place in it. The type of stories that would inspire any writer to write. Stunning.

[Jackson Epps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story collection by a usc professor. Some of them were really interesting and say a lot about the issues that dtla has. if I were a short story guy this would be great but I am not a short story guy. still interesting and well written though.

[RaveAnt]

This collection is really good and LA is a cool city w cool kinda destroyed history buuut literally the only city (okay not the only Im sure a lot of America is like this) but the only city where having small or NO SIDEWALKS means it's a good neighborhood to raise kids :|

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories fell flat for me but overall I loved the SoCal motif and racial interplay.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I bet you: You’ve seen too many movies, and you believe what those movies tell you about yourself. You think they’re mirrors.”

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bleak. The main character of each story is profoundly alone in the not quite dark.

[Ben Bush]

These were great. Skillful, funny, uncomfortable, surprising, thought-provoking. You couldn't ask for a better guide to downtown LA and the Inland Empire.

[Emma Burcart · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best story collections I've read in a long time.

[Em K · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfectly embodies what it means to grow up la in the most meaningful way. i love you dana!

[Lydia Costantian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this collection, especially "Buildings Talk", "Sunshine", and "Liberace Museum". Great depiction of LA, beautifully written stories, and amazing incorporation of heavy themes.

[Eleanor Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional book of short stories about Los Angeles and the stories of faceless people who live here.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

The stories I read did almost nothing for me and I am allergic to writers who don't know their words in the English language.

Examples: shoot for chute, track for tract.

[Ilana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come in LA Times

[Not Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paperback.

Great collection of short stories set on the West Coast. Stories that range from body issues, to race, to gentrification, and much more.

Stories that stuck out for me were Rogues, Sunshine, and The Liberace Museum.

[Arlene S]

This title mentioned in interview in LARB (Los Angeles Review of Books)