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Valentines

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Each story about love in Olaf Olafsson's Valentines begins innocently. The world Olafsson portrays in language without pretense is not a forbidding one. The people he creates for his world aren't incorrigible villains, just regular human beings who do the best they can. But along comes some critical fulcrum for change to test these regular folks and -- oops -- they stumble and fall. In each of the twelve tales -- named after the months of the year -- someone seizes up like a frozen machine gear.

One of men in Valentines, for example, seeks out an old girlfriend after many years, marriage on his mind. But when she confides in him and pleads with him to do something for her, he makes her a rash promise. Can he keep it?

Then there is the Icelandic couple, Margret and Oskar, who take their son, Jonas, to a lake cabin. Oskar and the boy go out on the water in a boat to fish one evening, and before they pack it in, the father gives in to Jonas' wheedling and does some hot-dogging with the little craft. They overturn and are dumped into frigid waters. Margret, horrified, watches what happens from the cabin window and, later, takes opportunity where she may to deal Oskar a blow of vengeance for what he failed to do while struggling in the icy waves.

In "June," a humiliated son-in-law learns a sexual secret about his wife's widowed father; he doesn't keep it to himself and one humiliation is traded for another.

In "July," photographer Magnus Thor feels his career has atrophied, and he longs to recapture the magic of his early photo shoots. But when it comes to a young, nubile model, Magnus and his wife, Inga, don't agree on how much creative license he's allowed.

And a raw tale about the frightful costs alcoholism can exact tells of a man who isn't sure he wants his wife to wake from a coma if it means she will find out what his relapsed drinking wrought.

Anyone seeking spare, focused stories that reveal cracks in the human psyche and the delicate nature of love is encouraged to pick up Valentines. The people Olafsson "follows around" are flawed in the way we all are, and every time a new "month" turns up, the reader will likely keep fingers crossed that this time, the characters will deviate from the path that leads to regret and heartache. Hope does spring eternal for most of us...but in this volume, Olafsson has other ideas....

Here's hoping the literary world receives many more short stories from this talented author who also pens novels.

Valentines by Olaf Olafsson is an enveloping compilation of love stories. Intriguing tales of tested and true love are masterfully told with minimal dialog. Every character is believable, yet not so fictional as to seem unreal. They are husbands and wives, bachelors and best friends. The type of folks you meet for coffee on a Saturday morning.

In chapter one we meet a bachelor returning from Iceland. His flight home to Chicago is delayed by a snowstorm, so he reconnects with an old flame on a chilly January night. In following chapters we meet three couples who struggle to stay together. Circumstances stretch their boundaries of honesty, faithfulness and acceptance.

Each vignette is set during a month of the calendar year. Just when you think the stories begin to warm, the shock of a family's tragedy and an unpredictable revelation inflict cold heartache on Olafsson's characters-and you want to reach out and ease their pain.

We walk alongside vacationing couples as they question their own desires and devotion, ultimately choosing to remain with their mates. In contrast to society's swiftness to dispose of relationships that no longer make us happy, these are inspiring stories.

A misunderstanding between best friends is redeemed after several years and a few glasses of wine. A family deals with the dark side of a recovering alcoholic and his relationship to his grown daughter. Add his ex-wife and granddaughter and you have a cocktail with an unexpected finish.

Memorable, poignant, and heartfelt describe Olafsson's style in this work of fiction. Chapter endings are true to life because realistically the impressions of others linger forever. Like the sweetness of a gentle word in seasons of despair, Valentines is a welcome gift any day of the year.

Armchair Interviews agrees.

A surprising book about real-life romances that's engaging, gifted, and hard to put down. Each of twelve stories are thoroughly engrossing.