The Returns

by Dennis Barone

An officer encounters a hapless Nell with her beaten son on a cliff just before he attacks a nameless army; in a city where all houses are painted blue, a record keeper tracks filter replacement and filtermen; in the midst of Thanksgiving dinner a boy suddenly encounters a pilot of an x-15 rocket and a salesman, who seem to sympathize with one another. In these strange and yet seemingly familiar tales the past and the language is grafted onto the present world, with a language that has fallen into near meaningless ("Boil, make my stomach hard and himself in eyes, his. Up little code, he to read."). In the process, Barone creates a new world, perhaps not so brave, but fresh as a "Texas whoopee!"

112 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1996