Anne Leigh Parrish

By the Wayside (Unsolicited Press, 2017) is Anne Leigh Parrish's third short story collection, and it’s another fine one. With heart and honesty, she pulls you into the lives of women who are trying to move forward and find their true selves in spite of past hurts and those who would dismiss or deny their strengths.
As the title implies, they might start out sidelined by guilt, emotional-scaring and self-doubt, but by the end of the story, either manage to break free (in sometimes dramatic fashion) or arrive at a new understanding about themselves.
Parrish’s writing is spare, but she manages to convey the rich complexity of her characters and their lives with well-chosen details and spot-on dialogue.
In my favorite story, "An Act of Concealment," the main character, Anna, is called upon to save her neighbor’s holiday dinner. It’s a seemingly innocent scene, but it reinforces the story’s theme of behind-the-scenes women who protect their family’s (read male) reputations even at the expense of their own.
"Smoke" begins with the observation that, when it comes to forest fires, “a healthy, living tree was harder to ignite.” It’s the perfect metaphor for a young woman so filled with hate and self-loathing that she can’t give or receive love.
I would describe Parrish as a feminist writer, but her message never feels heavy-handed. She tackles her most political subjects – racism and abortion – in short allegories with some humor.
Magic realism is also used to highlight how blind to the truth people can be. A genie pops out of an engaged couple’s spare-tire compartment (Trial by Luck) to grant them one wish, except these two can’t agree on anything.
In “How She was Found,” a young woman, Fiona, who has been living according to her father’s wishes, discovers an ancient skeleton while on an archaeological dig with a group of men. The men see the discovery in win/gain terms, but Fiona is so captivated by the possible life behind the skeleton that she hears it speak to her.
If you love short stories, you'll love this collection.

… (mais)

The linked stories in Our Love Could Light the World add up to a satisfyingly vivid portrait of a broken family, the Dugans. The author, Anne Leigh Parrish, is right – you wouldn’t want these people as neighbors. This is the kind of family that brings down home values – alcoholic dad, unhappy mom, wild brood of kids and a freely pooping dog. As characters, however, they’re absolutely endearing and often hilarious. While many of the things they do make you cringe – the children, for example, have a habit of bringing home strays (people, not animals) – you know they’re, more often than not, motivated by love and compassion. As a reader, you can’t help but become attached to these people, flawed as they are. Often I would get so invested in a story line, particularly eldest daughter Angie’s, that I wanted it to continue, uninterrupted. But that’s not what Parrish has set out to do here. This is the story of a family, not its parts. Each member gets to have his or her say while their individual and collective dramas wax and wane, change and resolve. It’s all very messy -- like life.… (mais)

In Anne Leigh Parrish’s fine debut novel about four generations of women, faith is found and lost -- faith in God, certainly, but also faith in self, faith in love, and faith in the endurance of family. These characters are grasping for meaning and connection in their difficult lives. Freddie, the middle-aged widow who starts the novel, seems to have arrived at a comfortable acceptance of her life after a childhood of abuse and neglect at the hands of her Bible-thumping mother, Lorraine. She and her sister basically raise themselves while their hypocritical mother goes off to preach the gospel. A particularly moving scene shows the girls’ wretched existence and remarkable resourcefulness through the eyes of their concerned grandfather. Lorraine is a character you love to hate as much as stalwart Freddie is one to root for. But no character is completely black or white, and that’s what makes them interesting. Even the secondary characters are vividly drawn. The novel goes back and forth in time, showing how one generation influences the next, from an immigrant couple trying to get ahead to a single mom who makes her living pole dancing. That Parrish somehow manages to tie all these disparate lives together into a satisfying whole is no small feat. This is a layered, character-driven novel for people who love a rich read.… (mais)

Let’s just say after reading this book I am really, really happy I did not come of age as a woman in the fifties. It’s remarkable to me that the men all went off to war, the women kept things going and then when the men came back the women were suddenly supposed to forget that they were capable, intelligent beings and just go back to being well, doormats.

Perhaps it worked for some but it wasn’t working for the protagonist of this novel, Edith. She found a freedom that she was unwilling to give up when her her husband came back from the war. He expected her to stay at home and conform to the roles he wanted her play.

This did not work for Edith so she bolts. What follows is a story of self discovery for well, both of them.

I will admit that it was a little bit of a struggle for me at first but I did find my rhythm with the book and ultimately enjoyed the story.… (mais)