Jodi Paloni

The "Linked Stories" caption below the title on the cover of THEY COULD LIVE WITH THEMSELVES caught my attention, because short story collections are often a crap shoot of sorts, with some good ones, some not-so-good. But if you have a good writer, who cares enough about her characters, and the place where they live, then links their separate stories into a coherent collection of stories that could each also stand alone, then you've got yourself a damn good book. And that's exactly what I found in Jodi Paloni's very first book, because this woman has obviously been honing her craft for years, and it shows. Her stories of the denizens of Stark Run, Vermont, immediately brought to mind the people of Crosby, Maine, from Elizabeth Strout's Pulitzer-winning OLIVE KITTERIDGE, also linked stories. Indeed, Paloni even gives us a veteran teacher of Stark Run in Maeve Bellamy, who is every bit as formidable as Strout's Olive. But it is probably the Ryan family that most ties Paloni's eleven stories together. We meet the Ryans in "Molly Sings the Blues," which shows us Molly Ryan's restless discontent. Her children are grown, her husband is recently retired, and she is yearning for something else. Her husband, Jack, a farmer and hardware store manager, feels lost and vaguely hurt by his wife's awakening desire for something more. (And, by the way, I found it significant that Ms Bellamy liked to assign her senior English classes Kate Chopin's THE AWAKENING.) He feels guilty, too, about his interest in a trio of teenage girls who hang out in a playground where he brings his granddaughter to swing, acutely missing his wife, who is away at a ten-week yoga camp. And then there is Sky, Jack and Molly's son, who is attending the local community college, studying photography. Sky is shacking up with Emily, but finds himself increasingly attracted to Meredith Webb, who, slightly older, had taught him art in high school. There are other equally compelling characters and stories here too, of course, but it was the Ryan family that really grabbed me, and the final story, "The Physics of Light," is, in my estimation, the crown jewel of the collection. In it, Sky is coming into his own, as both an artist and a man, and must make some hard decisions.

The fact is, there are enough well-defined characters here to keep Paloni writing for years to come should she decide to give each of them his or her own book. And every book would be a gem, trust me. But this book alone is enough to put her squarely in the ranks of writers like Strout, Kate Chopin, Sherwood Anderson (WINESBURG, OHIO) and Hemingway (the Nick Adams stories). Heady company? Damn straight. But these stories are that good. Bravo, Ms Paloni. My very highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (mais)

They Could Live with Themselves is a collection of short stories about the small town of Stark Run, Vermont. Each has a different character as a focal point, but some of the characters appear in the other stories, intertwining their stories as their lives are related by blood or friendship.
Ms. Paloni writes beautifully. Her descriptions of the town bring it to stunning life. As the seasons pass, the reader is immersed in the crunching of leaves in autumn or mud season in the spring. The close-knit community of the small town is on display as well as the gossip and petty disputes.
Each character has a distinct voice from the twelve-year-old to the grandfather. I enjoyed how the POV changes from the first person to third in each story, depending on the needs of that character's voice. Each character faces a challenge of some sort and as the title suggests, must decide to live with their choice.
This is a collection that readers of Elizabeth Strout or Anne Tyler will greatly enjoy. I heartily recommend it.… (mais)