Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories

I like to read light, fun books on summer vacation, and Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories does not meet my requirements. I put the book down after reading the first three short stories because it was too sad. Then I could not stop thinking about how the stories were beautifully written, with brilliantly developed characters and settings. When I accepted the fact that the characters might be fearful, lonely, daydreamers or sleepwalkers, but that they were for the most part resigned to their lives, I started reading again. Nancy Christie has written my perfect summer book, short stories that I couldn't put down.

Traveling Left of Center is a fascinating read about choices in life and how different personalities deal with life. It is told in a series of interesting short stories with characters and situations that are true to life. I enjoyed reading this book and have told several friends that is one to add to their to be read stack or read now even better. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this publication.

4.5 stars

I consider myself a reader of novels. In my experience, very few short story authors (Alice Munro being a notable exception) can capture true emotion or deep insight in 30,000 words or less; the best I can usually hope for is an intriguing turn of phrase or two or an unexpected plot twist.

Nancy Christie's debut collection Traveling Left of Center blew those preconceptions out of the water. Although most of the stories in this collection seemed to be on the lower end of the short story spectrum in terms of word count, virtually all of them rated 4 or 5 stars, with only two ("Misconnections" and "Beautiful Dreamer") being below average. Many of Christie's stories share a focus on mother-daughter relationships, and they capture the joys and agonies of that relationship perfectly. Christie's evocation of the adult daughter and senile mother in "The Kindness of Strangers" manages to nail the voices and experiences of both parties, making this my favorite story in the collection, but "Watching for Billy," "Waiting for Sara," and "Annabelle" are almost equally strong.

The subtlety of "The Storyteller," in which an elderly volunteer on a children's hospital ward alternates the cheerful story she tells the children with the much sadder truth she shares with the reader, carries an unexpected bite. Christie even does magical realism well, as when she excites the reader's compassion for "The Healer" in a matter of a few short sentences:

"Just let me touch you. Please - just one touch. The tip of my finger, then. Please, can I touch you with the tip of my finger? Please? Just for a second. Please!"
She then goes on to describe the Healer's reaction:

Begging. Pleading. The voice of desperation. Cassie had heard it so many times before and, in the beginning, in the early days, had found it impossible to ignore. So she would stand there, let them touch her, stroke her face, cut tiny pieces of faded cloth from her shirt, her jeans - once even a strand of hair from her head, done so quickly that she couldn't shield her skin from the sharp blade of the scissors. And with each touch, she felt more of herself being taken, being lost.

But today, she turned a deaf ear to the words, hardening her heart to the emotion behind the plea. She had to. Otherwise, there would be nothing of her left at the end of the day. She would be in a million separate pieces, scattered to the four corners of the earth, a disembodied force forever longing for a body in which to once again reside.

Christie is published by Pixel Hall Press, which describes itself as "a relatively new, old-fashioned small publishing house whose focus is on discovering literary gems and great stories by gifted writers that might have otherwise been overlooked." I, for one, am thankful that Pixel Hall Press discovered Nancy Christie, and I eagerly anticipate seeing what each of them comes up with next.

I received a free copy of Traveling Left of Center through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.