Dark Roots: Stories

Cate Kennedy, in this her first collection of short stories DARK ROOTS, proves once again that that most elusive of art forms is refreshingly alive and in good hands and reminds us that good writers keep coming out of Australia. In these 17 stories, 14 of which have been previously published, Ms. Kennedy with a deft turn of phrase and in concise language creates protagonists, both men and women, whom we are hard put to dislike or at the very least not emphasize with, even when they commit violent acts. Several of these characters attempt to right a wrong as they see it. In "Direct Action," one of my favorite stories, Gary Sutherland, an unemployed welder, commits an act of sabotage against a papermill, where the executives have paid a lot of money "to give toilet paper a good image." In "Angel," Mai, who is a Vietnamese woman living in Australia, confronted with a parent's worst nightmare, child molestation, takes the law into her own hands. In "The Testosterone Club," the narrator literally gets revenge on her husband-- who "didn't excel at any one sport; he watched them equally"-- and his two TV-watching-cronies who falsely accuse her of coming on to them when it is the other way around. Kennedy is completely at home examining the relationships between men and woman and the distance that couples can travel from each other. Often one or both of them are not honest and don't talk to each other as they become mired down in relationships with a short shelf life. On the other hand, often the love between parents and children is palpable. In "Flotsam" the narrator's remembrance of her mother is worthy of the best writing of Eudora Welty. "When my mother died, my brother sent me some of her things. . . some embroidered linen and personal items packed in a box. . . But it was not the thought of this that cut me most deeply, but her preserved wedding presents: the rolled white gloves, her empty 'Evening in Paris' perfume bottle, her foolish proud hope." This passage wil tear the heart right out of you. Or Gary Sutherland's dscription of his loving father, forced to retire 15 years too early, as Gary has his day in court: "As I walk out, I catch sight of my father, down the back, head up, worth ten of the bastards in suits." Neither irony or surprise endings are strangers to Ms. Kennedy. DARK ROOTS reminds me of the early short stories of the U. S. writer Ann Beattie, CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER, stories that one reviewer described as having characters somewhere beyond despair.

Kennedy's stories truly blew me away! I savored them, one or two at a time and stretched out the reading as long as I could to enjoy her take on women in stifling relationships, family symbiosis, dark thoughts of revenge, and the cunning response of an impaired young man to a greedy older woman. All of them interested me on many complex levels. Wheelbarrow Thief resonated and Testosterone Club is such sweet revenge.

Pssst! Want to know a secret? Then you'll want to read this book. Cate Kennedy has written 17 sinfully luscious secrets, disguised as short stories. Fourteen have been previously published and have, deservingly, won awards. In each story, she cunningly and carefully exposes the essence of our humanity in all its glorious, ridiculous imperfection. She gives us a peek into the minds, motivations and missteps of 17 unusually ordinary or ordinarily unusual people, slipping an invitation to examine and make our own between each page. Her characters have an Australian flavor, but no matter where in the world we live, any one of them might sit in front of us at the theater, stand behind us in the market or even sleep next to us in the same bed. You'll know them intimately, but feel as if you're truly meeting them for the first time. Kennedy teasingly whispers the ultimate secret all the way through each story, but if you're not paying close attention, you'll miss it completely. Missing the secret won't, however, affect your enjoyment of the story at all. So, if you like surprises go ahead and take pleasure in the story without trying to find the clues and decipher the subtext. Whichever way you choose to read them, you'll be able to either smirk knowingly or smack yourself in the head at the end of each story, when all is revealed. Her hints are subtle, her style unique, and her stories are perfectly balanced. Her characters will entertain and enlighten, bringing you along for the ride, but you'll have to, at least, chip in for the gas. (And if you feel as if you've still missed something, there is a group reading guide with pertinent questions at the end of the book that will help you delve further into the stories and the characters.) This is one of those books that you'll want to savor and gobble at the same time, and then, once you've caught your breath, go back to the beginning and do it all over again. I've just discovered Cate Kennedy, and I would pay her writing skill my highest compliment - better than chocolate and, better yet, zero calories - Yum! I can guarantee you'll want to keep a copy of this book on your nightstand, and give one to all your best friends (the book, not the nightstand).