The Rope Swing: Stories

by Jonathan Corcoran

Finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards and long-listed for The Story Prize! A once-booming West Virginia rail town no longer has a working train. The residents left behind in this tiny hamlet look to the mountains that surround them on all sides: The outside world encroaches, and the buildings of the gilded past seem to crumble more every day. 

These are the stories of outsiders—the down and out. What happens to the young boy whose burgeoning sexuality pushes him to the edge of the forest to explore what might be love with another boy? What happens when one lost soul finally makes it to New York City, yet the reminders of his past life are omnipresent? What happens when an old woman struggles to find a purpose and reinvent herself after decades of living in the shadow of her platonic life partner? What happens to those who dare to live their lives outside of the strict confines of the town’s traditional and regimented ways? 

The characters in The Rope Swing—gay and straight alike—yearn for that which seems so close but impossibly far, the world over the jagged peaks of the mountains. 

Genres: Short Stories, LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Gay, Realistic Fiction, Anthologies

163 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2016

About the author

Jonathan Corcoran is the author of No Son of Mine: A Memoir (April 2024) and the story collection, The Rope Swing, which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards and long-listed for The Story Prize. His essays and stories have been published and anthologized widely, including in Eyes Glowing at the Edge of the Woods: Fiction and Poetry from West Virginia, and Best Gay Stories. He received a BA in Literary Arts from Brown University and an MFA in Fiction Writing from Rutgers University-Newark. Jonathan teaches writing at New York University. He was born and raised in a small town in West Virginia and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more at jonathancorcoranwrites.com.

Reviews

[Larry H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've become such an enormous fan of short stories over the years. They allow talented authors to develop a world in miniature, to quickly draw you into a story and endear their characters to you, and tie everything up (or leave it purposely ambiguous), all in the span of a relatively small number of pages. They can experiment with different narrative styles or themes, or link their stories around a particular set of characters, setting, and/or time period. When it all works, short stories can be breathtaking, sometimes even more than a full-length novel.

A number of the stories in Jonathan Corcoran's collection, The Rope Swing , reached that level for me. The characters in these stories are at a pivotal moment in their lives—the railroad for which their once-successful town was known has taken its last ride, they must make a critical decision about a relationship, they're faced with grief, uncertainty, bitterness, and pain. Each of the stories is either based in a small West Virginia town, or the characters have their roots there, and many of the characters overlap in several of the stories.

My favorites in this 10-story collection included: "Corporeal," in which a relatively sheltered teenager must confront her father's suicide, and decides this is the moment to start bucking her mother's overprotectiveness; "Pauly's Girl," about a woman trying to find her way after her platonic life partner has died; "Felicitations," which tells of a genetic counselor in rural West Virginia facing some critical decisions of her own; "Appalachian Swan Song," about a once-booming town watching the very end of its railroad; "Through the Still Hours," in which one-half of a gay couple tries to figure out why his relationship no longer satisfies him any longer, and what he should do; and my absolute favorite, the title story, about two young men on the cusp of admitting their secrets to one another, but one is unsure of what taking that first (or last) step could mean.

I found this collection when I saw it had been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. (I found this somewhat ironic because I think there were fewer gay-related stories in here than anything else, but I could have lost count.) Corcoran is really a fantastic storyteller. It's amazing how he can imbue his stories with such powerful emotions in such a small number of pages, and how he makes you feel them just as strongly as his characters do. Only one or two stories didn't work for me, and it wasn't that they weren't well-written, but rather that I just didn't feel as immersed in those as I did the others.

I've had conversations with a number of Goodreads friends as to why they love short stories, or why they don't appeal to them. I can definitely say up until about 15-16 years ago I definitely was in the latter camp, but now I am hooked. There is so much talent out there writing beautiful stories, so if you're willing to give it a try, The Rope Swing may be a great way to ease you in.

Me? I'll be waiting for the next step in Corcoran's career.

See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5* of five

This is awesome! THE ROPE SWING http://tinyurl.com/jnmevfy
My review now at The Oak Wheel, a terrific group blog.

New ‪#‎review on my blog‬! THE ROPE SWING http://tinyurl.com/gpp9vg3

This collection of stories brings to life the Appalachian people's many struggles to survive as towns wither & die, as industries leave & outsiders forget they exist, and as gay young men grow up, leave, or stay to face a life of Being Careful. Jonathan Corcoran, bravo for finding the perfect home for this 4-star collection!

I'll post the whole review in May sometime.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of short stories about small-town life. My favorites were the two that focused on the young gay experience, "The Rope Swing" and "Through the Still Hours," both of which I wish were novels. Highly recommend!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't typically pick up short stories collections--I always want to stay with characters longer. In The Rope Swing that rings true even more loudly, as these characters are so fully formed even in such short forms. These are people I want to sit around in a bar with, listening to just one more story before close.

The collection itself revolves around characters of the same home town--we pan in and out of various lives here, learning the landscape and the people, often blurring the two: "The mountains were in our voices and on our worn clothes...We thought we were as hard as limestone, while our hearts were as soft as coal dust." This first story written in the collective "we" embodies this connection of place and person, story and self. This opening not only sets the stage for readers, literally, but it beautifully encapsulates the stark, stunning writing of Corcoran. I can't wait to see what comes next from him.

[Kevin Catalano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly powerful collection of stories that, due to its narrative and thematic arcs, reads more like a novel. Corcoran is a master of emotional nuance as evident in characters who will break your heart. However, there is also extreme tenderness in the love that the characters have and seek, as well as in the beautifully realized settings, both rural and urban.

It's difficult to believe that this is Corcoran's debut as it's written with a wisdom of craft and style. Lucky for us, he has a long career ahead of him, with many more books to come.

[Dominic Piacentini · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a balm. It literally felt healing. This book is about (un)belonging in small Appalachian towns and NYC. As our queer-ish cast of characters reach a crossroads in their lives, they must turn around and confront what it is they’ve been running from. Oftentimes it’s the home, the family, and the mountains that first spit them out. “When you were growing up, did you ever go swimming in rivers?” The rope swing is freedom, and it is a noose. Do you reach for it? Do you take the leap?

[Ace Boggess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corcoran writes such deep, compelling prose the reader is pulled along as if by an undertow. He beautifully depicts both rural West Virginia life and the escape from it. His stories focus on alienation and a sense of connection. Truly wonderful writing.

[Ming · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories have a certain emotional feel, a melancholy, and some were very depressing with a kind of reflection and a distinct doom or pessimism. I liked this book but was saddened by all the white characters... it made me think that they are Trump's voters and that makes things simplistic.

I especially liked "The Rope Swing," "Brooklyn, 4 A.M.," "Excavation," and "A Touch."

[Lara Lillibridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of meeting Johnathan Corcoran this past summer when he was visiting faculty at my alma mater, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and I was participating in their speaker series. He was such an interesting and engaging person that I had to order his book as soon as I got home, though it's taken a while to work its way up my TBR pile. Once I started it I was so enthralled that I blew off everything else I was supposed to do until it was finished. It's taut, sharp, and exactly what my teachers meant when they said: "make every word count and every sentence drive the story forward."

The Rope Swing is an intimate look at a small town through various linked characters. I disagree with Goodreads’ description as a story of outsiders—it is very much also a story of insiders, of those protected by—or accepted to at least a certain degree by—a small town, just because they belong to it. I’d say perhaps it is more about aloneness. And yes, the train is leaving, but there is also a strong love of place—pride in the mountains, in the isolation.

In The Rope Swing we get to know the town itself almost as a living entity, an unnamed character. I was uncertain how I felt about the name of the book until the very end, and without spoilers, it is perfect. This is a book that once I got to the ending I understood every other story on a deeper level. I had to flip back, re-read certain passages. The only other book that gave me that experience of backward understanding was Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson. There is something incredibly satisfying about a book that turns so sharply, and in the case of The Rope Swing, so subtlety. It’s truly masterful.

It’s a searing collection, though I reject story collection as a description. It’s more complete than that, more fused. I think of it as a novel in pieces, like the difference between a mosaic—where every piece leads to a unified whole—and a collage—where every piece is a separate thing, layered upon the next. However, the short story form allows Corcoran to alter the point of view to great effect. This book is as much about what is left out as what is included, and the use of first-person and first-person-plural allows both an anonymity and a point of entry for the reader. When I finished the book, I felt as if the characters nodded and walked off into the mist--each person was rendered so fully. The Rope Swing is making me re-think the form of my own work in progress, contemplate if linked stories could provide a more three-dimensional view than a linear story.

[Caroline Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I do not normally read short stories, I picked this one up. I am glad I did! The once booming mining economy now foregone in W. Virginia's towns, leave an interesting backdrop for a variety of characters in the chapters. The characters, gay or straight, are eclectic, flamboyant and interesting. Their stories are beautiful and sad like the towns they live in. The last two chapters are set in NYC, and speaks truth to any transplant living in the "prettiest ugly city" while missing a home you left behind.

The real magic in these short stories is Corcoran's description of the landscape. Reading it, you begin to think that you, too, grew up under a tree in the West Virginian sun, where you used to swing from a mystical rope swing with a high school crush. He describes the scenery beautifully and you can almost feel the sun coming through the newly sprouting leaves at Pauly's historic house.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 - An exceptional debut from a promising author. I picked this one up, read a few pages, and put it down. A day or so later some of what I read permeated my brain. It needled in me and got me to open the book again. I reread the opening pages, and then I read on. And on. This was a beautiful collection of stories focused on both gay and straight characters and situated primarily in an unnamed community of West Virginia, with a few set outside, but with apparent connections to said community. Corcoran's prose was lustrous and powerful and melancholy. You jumped in and felt the character's yearning and heartache and dreams. Each story ended at the right moment; the perfect capsule of time captured. The desire for more came for my short but deep investment with a character or two. I recommend this title to everyone.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of loosely related short stories is excellent from start to finish. Jonathan Corcoran beautifully captures the dignity and vulnerability of young gay men in modern Appalachia. As his characters come of age, some move away to the city, others stay in the mountains, some come out, and others stay in the closet. The love of the mountains and the sense of place can be felt throughout the book as this West Virginia town prospers and then slowly fades away. I look forward to reading much more from this talented new author.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, well-developed characters that bring the reader into the stories. I felt profoundly engaged with the happenings of this town from beginning to end. I loved it!

[BookChampions · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I want to reach out and touch him, his gentle face, but I don't. I can't. What I really need is for someone to reach out and touch me."

From "A Touch," the final story in his debut collection of short stories (and a Lambda Literary Award nominee) from 2016, *The Rope Swing*, this short passage resonates with me in more ways than one. Sometimes lately I wonder if I will ever again get the opportunity to embrace my best friends, shake hands with new ones, or even rest an encouraging hand on the shoulder of a student. Living through a pandemic has me rethinking the importance of touch.

But touch has always been something I have hungered for and have had a complicated relationship with. Soon after one very early experience snuggling with a neighborhood boy during a sleepover, I rarely allowed myself physical intimacy with those in my life, just one way I was able to avoid facing the growing difference and desire I felt within me. And despite my growing awareness of the damning nature of a rigid adherence to masculinity, I told myself again and again throughout adolescence and early adulthood that this was just a fact of my manhood, and the independent streak I wore like a badge, a quality that compensated for areas where my gender expression may have come up short.

It's with this complicated understanding of the physical that I come to Jonathan Corcoran's deftly written short story collection as a reader. For all his lyrical descriptions of setting, it's the emotional yearnings of these characters that situate me here and that endear me to these individuals. Of course the West Virginia setting is profoundly important to these stories of mostly queer individuals (or those whose lives intertwine with them); the rural, tightly drawn community they live within incite these characters with a deep desire to flee (either into themselves or away into a city, such as New York) and to long.

In a conversation with David Magill for K'in Literary Journal, Corcoran says, "The beauty of reading about someone else’s fictional life is that it provides the reader a safe space to come to terms with their own inner struggles. Readers work through their own emotions by reading books. In one sense, reading is exposure to worlds we didn’t know existed. And in another sense, reading is an act that forces us to come to terms with our true selves."

I know too well the ways a reader can "work through their own emotions by reading books." And short story collections are actually wonderful for that. Each story ends with a fleeting moment of epiphany and illumination at the end. There is only the *semblance* of a resolution that inevitably leads readers back into the gaps and back within the shadows. We are left with questions about what will happen next and what choices they will make next that lead us to questions about how WE will live our lives.

Corcoran has written a short story collection that I'll probably place among my favourites. The title story, "Pauley's Girl," "Through the Still Hours," and of course "A Touch," are probably the stories that I've been thinking about the most, but none of the stories are disappointing or feel hollow. All that said, I would love to see a full novel by this writer. I appreciate how much care he has put not only into his stories but into how his readers of all backgrounds and sexualities will welcome them.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely lovely read to start off my year. With The Rope Swing: Stories, Jonathan Corcoran offers readers a mix of quiet beauty and melancholy through 10 loosely interconnected stories involving the residents of a small Appalachian town. Tackling issues of identity (both queer and straight) and isolation, Corcoran masterfully paints a delicate portrait of life in small town in America in a place so very much removed from the boom of big businesses. His characters read as real people either battling the effects of suburban stasis or challenging the consequences of change. These are not stories of winners or losers but of souls who seem to have a foot stuck in the past as they try to define themselves beyond the borders of a town itself in flux, but instead find themselves adrift in a lonely sea. Through his controlled writing, Corcoran paints place as person, portraying the town itself as the collection's primary protagonist and antagonist. Story after story we get to see the unnamed town morph from the idyllic picture of suburban bliss to an unrelenting cage, sometimes in just the single stroke of a pen, and are witness to how mountains can seen as both protectors and tormentors.

I really enjoyed how through each story Corcoran firmly establishes the geography yet establishes each character as man or woman without a path. As the town tries to define itself so do the people- they are the decaying train station, the secret lakes and the old buildings. Coming from a small island, I related so closely to many of the feelings of being stuck and wanting freedom, and then related even more to those stories about how distance cannot undo the stains of history. How no matter how far we run we will always carry a bit of where we are form with us, and how that nostalgia (or at times sometimes far more malicious) may chase our sleep at nights. While not every story in this collection is a home run, I enjoyed each and every one for its story telling and the story told, and when Corcoran is ON his game, trust me he is ON HIS GAME. I personally found him to be especially impactful in his queer themed tales (Shout out to Rope Swing, Through the Still Hours and Touch) as to me these were the stories with the strongest narrative voices and showcased Corcoran's writing in its most striking and confident light, with the characters, their thoughts and their emotions showing a level of authenticity that had me taking breaks between sentences just to reorganize my thoughts from the truth tea that was spilled and revelations that we made.

By far one of the best short story collections I have read to date The Rope Swing is a solid read for anyone looking for something gorgeously written or for something super quick to get through (or both!) 4.5 stars from me and I cannot wait for Corcoran's next piece of work!

[Doug Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inevitably, every single-author collection of short stories is bound to be a mixed bag. In The Rope Swing, the best stores are shining and brilliant, the balance merely good.
The collection starts off strong. In ‘Appalachian Swan Song,’ Corcoran sets the theme off the book, the slow decay of the small town way of life, and establishes a romantic, wistful, nostalgic, tone. It’s also immediately evident that he is a true craftsman. The prose flows effortless like the silver water of a hidden and long forgotten mountain stream. In this inaugural story he also masterfully writes in a collective voice, first person plural (like Walbert’s Our Kind or Eugenides’ Virgin Suicides) and the effect is flawless.
Corcoran is at his best when he writes about gay characters dealing with life or coming of age in a small town, or dealing with the legacy of those memories. The title story is the standout here; like a poem, every word, every sentence is perfect and necessary, the exquisite balance between what is revealed and what is hidden, stunningly heartbreaking is precision and mystery.
‘Through the Still Hours’ was also difficult and powerful.
Many of the stories give us portraits of characters at difficult crossroads, and they are pretty solid.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely, lush collection of stories from the Greek-Chorus of “Appalachian Swan Song” to the subtlety of “A Touch”. A series of short stories bound tightly to each other - as much by theme as by geography. But these themes are layered, so I can quite see coming back to these stories again to find they leave me with new insights. Probably because, as I read, I find such a rich peripheral presentation. Where I might see leave-taking and the husks of nostalgia with one reading, another might show me the strength of new growth and transformation. And throughout such gorgeous description and understated passion - sometimes consummated, but often thwarted. (No I'm no kin to the author - not even a distant cousin.)

[Misha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this was just fine. There is an attempt to evoke a sense of melancholy, nostalgia... but these never reach their fruition. I like simplicity in writing, but most of the stories seemed rather simplistic, merely skimming the surface of its characters' motives. Having said that, there is one story (‘Through the Still Hours’) that I did love and it kind of reminded me of Garth Greenwell's powerful evocations of queer lives in all its complexities and messiness. So there's definite potential, but for most stories, the characters and situations seem to just meld in.

[Nick Artrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology is brimming with emotion and often maudlin, but the stories all work incredibly well together. It captures the rural, queer experience well with vivid imagery and characters that feel immediately recognizable. The final two stories really drive home the spirit of Corocran's collection and manage to make the feel reader feel both the nostalgia and suffocation of the small West Virginia town the author has created while also providing distance that adds to the gut punch of overall reading experience. Very well done!

[LenaRibka]

29th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalist

[Dolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such gorgeous prose. I felt so connected to each place and each person in these stories. Their longings for safety and love and belonging were both nuanced and universally relatable. A beautiful collection!

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memorable collection of stories of the current rural experience. Where do outsiders fit in? How to remake or survive in this post-prosperity place (WVA coal country)? And what happens to those who leave?
Jonathan Corcoran, you are on my radar.

[Steven Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating portrayals of rural life and how it intersects with sexual identity and socioeconomic status (and short stories aren't normally my cup of tea)

[TA Inskeep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of these stories are very, very good indeed. (4.5 stars.)

[Kate Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

sweet & idyllic but a little bit flat and the metaphor is too easily decipherable for me

[willowdog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes one reads something that touches your heart and reminds you of life. This collection of Appalachian short stories is just such a work. I loved it.

[Gabrielle Beebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the stories could be slow to get through at times, they were really beautiful, with quiet descriptions of the subtleties of relationships and full of descriptions of small town America and backdrops of lush picturesque nature. I didn't like all of the stories, some could be real downers for a couple different reasons, on of which being that morn than a few of the characters were impossibly inept at communicating their feelings.

[Eliot Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories!

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

More gay than straight stories. Not that that matters. It's that kind of simple complex thing that makes for a good short story.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 -4; Loved the descriptive WV setting, could connect with the characters in the stories, good variety...want to know if Christopher found his way. :)