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Compassion, Michigan: The Ironwood Stories
Encompassing some 130 years in Ironwood's history, Compassion, Michigan illuminates characters struggling to adapt to their circumstances starting in the present day, with its subsequent stories rolling back in time to when Ironwood was first founded. What does it mean to live in a small town--so laden with its glory day reminiscences--against the stark economic realities of today? Doesn't history matter anymore? Could we still have compassion for others who don't share our views? A Deaf woman, born into a large, hearing family, looks back on her turbulent relationship with her younger, hearing sister. A gas station clerk reflects on Stella Draper, the woman who ran an ice cream parlor only to kill herself on her 33rd birthday. A devout mother has a crisis of faith when her son admits that their priest molested him. A bank teller, married to a soldier convicted of treason during the Korean War, gradually falls for a cafeteria worker. A young transgender man, with a knack for tailoring menswear, escapes his wealthy Detroit background for a chance to live truly as himself in Ironwood. When a handsome single man is attracted to her, a popular schoolteacher enters into a marriage of convenience only to wonder if she's made the right decision. RAYMOND LUCZAK, a Yooper native, is the author and editor of 24 books, including Flannelwood. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "These are stories of extremely real women, mostly disappointed by life, living meagerly in a depleted town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Sound depressing? Not at all. Luczak has tracked their hopes, their repressed desires, and their ambitions with the elegance and precision of one of those silhouette artists who used to snip out perfect likenesses in black paper; people 'comforted by the familiarity of loneliness,' as he writes." --EDMUND WHITE, author of A Saint in Texas “Filled with grief and hope, bitterness and tenderness, Raymond’s collection of short stories exudes compassion for its characters and their environs. With a confident eye to detail, and knowledge of the pulse of the place, he brings the reader into the quiet lives the people in the stories appear to be living only to reveal internal tensions around sexuality, belonging, and family. A pleasurable, nuanced portrayal of life in a small town by a talented writer with an understanding of the humanity we all share.” --CHRIS STARK, author of A Tale of Dissociation “Raymond Luczak’s Compassion, Michigan is a modern-day version of Winesburg, Ohio that proves William Faulkner’s statement that ‘The past is never dead. It is not even over.’ These stories describe a small town over the course of the twentieth century, experiencing change, being haunted by its past. Its residents live their lives of quiet desperation as queer, confused, disempowered or outcast members of their community. They seek love, sex, purpose, and the freedom to be themselves. In short, they are human, and they have much to teach us.” --TYLER R. TICHELAAR, Ph.D. and award-winning author of Narrow Lives From Modern History Press FIC066000 FICTION / Small Town & Rural FIC068000 FICTION / LGBT / General FIC029000 FICTION / Short Stories (single author)
204 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 18, 2021
Raymond Luczak’s short stories are among the most unusual I have read. They have immense power, due to three things. First, he takes the reader firmly into the reality of the narrator of the story. Second is the vividly depicted setting this person lives in. Third is the subtle elegance of his language.
This book is a rhapsody to the ordinary. There is tragedy in many of these lives, but they are the common tragedies of common, everyday lives everywhere. There is also joy, and achievement, but again the kind you’ll find behind a great many front doors. And yet, Raymond’s narration is indeed a rhapsody.
He has an odd pattern of storytelling, and perhaps this is my only critical note. Most of the stories start without a hook. The ordinary shines through, but if you read past it, you will be drawn in. I’d prefer to have this and also a hook, but Raymond carries the unusual style off.
The title is apt: the characters are not necessarily compassionate — indeed, some are vengeful — but the author’s compassion shines through the whole bevy of (invariably female) protagonists. This is the writing of an old soul, and reading his words will enrich your life.
This book is a rhapsody to the ordinary. There is tragedy in many of these lives, but they are the common tragedies of common, everyday lives everywhere. There is also joy, and achievement, but again the kind you’ll find behind a great many front doors. And yet, Raymond’s narration is indeed a rhapsody.
He has an odd pattern of storytelling, and perhaps this is my only critical note. Most of the stories start without a hook. The ordinary shines through, but if you read past it, you will be drawn in. I’d prefer to have this and also a hook, but Raymond carries the unusual style off.
The title is apt: the characters are not necessarily compassionate — indeed, some are vengeful — but the author’s compassion shines through the whole bevy of (invariably female) protagonists. This is the writing of an old soul, and reading his words will enrich your life.
July 16, 2021
An interesting vignette of short stories. I appreciated recognizing the names of streets, neighborhoods, businesses and schools in my hometown, along with a mention of the florist shop started by a brother or nephew of my great-great grandfather and recognition of my cousin Jim in the acknowledgments.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews