Greg Hrbek is an amazing writer. This compilation of short stories, all dealing with themes of love, loss and death, are an amazing assembly of the range of human emotion. "Sagittarius" is a beautiful story about parental love and the depth of feeling we have for our children. "Tomorrow People" is a tale of two countries torn apart by war and two very different boys who are joined together by common losses. "False Positive" introduces the conflict of a father-to-be who is haunted (quite literally) by a guilty secret. "Green World" takes us into the mind and heart of a 13-year-old who is in prison for commiting a heinous crime. "Destroy All Monsters" concentrates on a group of people thrown together for a common cause, and the thread that tenuously holds them together, a thread of loss, war and pain. In "Sleeper Wave" we meet a man who is in the midst of an early mid-life crisis, resenting the staid life he's been led unwillingly into. "The Cliffs at Marpi" takes us to the Allied-occupied WWII Japanese Islands, where a young mother has made a pact with her soldier husband, and is determined to carry out an act many would deem insane. "frannycam.net/diary" re-introduces a character from a previous story, albeit posthumously, and the effect this character has had on the lives of one family. "General Grant (2004-)" deals with familial conflict and desperate love and loss. "Bereavement" is a haunting story of a family torn apart by tragedy, but given an opportunity at renewal.
The stories in this book all resonated with me, especially "The Cliffs at Marpi" and "Tomorrow People". These two stories stayed with me long after I had closed the pages of the books, and I found myself wondering what certain characters in each story would be like now, or would be doing. That, to me, is the sign of a good story, when the characters are so powerfully and realistically drawn that you feel a sense of loss at not getting more of a glimpse into their lives.
Hrbek is an award winning writer and professor of English. His prose is beautiful, stark and sad. He can convey more emotion in a word or two than many writers can in a full page. I am completely in love with this book. Mr. Hrbek, I too am a writer, and if you read this review, please know that upon reading this book, I was compelled to sit down and write. Excellent, life-changing book of stories. Do not miss this one!
