Caution, Men in Trees: Stories

by Darrell Spencer

The nine stories of CAUTION Men in Trees capture the pressure, need, and frequent helplessness of people confronted with intractable reality. As suggested by the collection's epigraph from Superman—"Did you say kryptonite?"—the characters in these stories have reached a point where they realize that parts of their lives are coming undone, and that their own thoughts and actions—or, frequently, the failure to act soon enough—are the cause. Though settings and situations vary, the same sense of overwhelming urgency recurs throughout the collection. The stories reflect a world distressed by conflict and settings fraught with the occurrences of personal violence. Against the background of the O. J. Simpson trial, a man refuses to assist in a friend's suicide and realizes that he has been avoiding many unpleasant truths about himself and his life. A son faced with his father's debilitating stroke sees that he must ultimately confront the mortality and feelings of grief that he has been concealing. In the title story, the film Bugsy and talk about the disappointing reality of pop-culture heroes set the scene for a husband's frightening confrontation with his own limitations. The shock of stark revelation combines with tightly wound chains of suggestive events to create a collection of gripping, edgy stories about characters who, however battered, survive.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

193 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Loreen Niewenhuis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection won the Flannery in 2000. Spencer has a great voice and certainly loves his characters. Everyone is a snappy talker and the narrative voice is jazzy and witty with pointed descriptions. The stories seem to have the same formula, though, snappy characters, strange situation, toss in a dog, and there you have it! Got a little tiresome by the last story.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my blog for the review: http://thestoryisthecure.blogspot.com/

[Gard Stevenett]

wonderful stories.