Starlight and Other Stories
By Edward M. George
TNSB, 2023
Paperback: $19.95
Genre: Fiction, Short Stories
Reviewed by Edward Journey
In the new collection, Starlight and Other Stories, by Edward M. George, many of the characters are older, sometimes retired or in late second careers, and living normal lives that will be familiar to most readers. Some are wealthy, some not so much. There are Viet Nam vets, old hippies, retired professors, several attorneys, private investigators, and an occasional musician. In the story “Tales from Elmore County,” a man driving a new Buick takes his ninety-year-old grandmother out of the nursing home for a sentimental journey to her homeplace. In “The Dead Pecker Gang,” four men sit on a bench in front of a small-town feed and seed and watch the world, especially the girls, go by in a rather elaborate build to a punch line. A book signing turns into an unexpected reunion of long-ago lovers in “The Girl in the Photograph.” In “Smokey Johnson’s Guitar” and “The Ram,” a seeming naif hoodwinks graduate students and ambitious attorneys, respectively.
This may sound like standard “slice of life” fare, and, to a certain degree, it is. Edward M. George, a retired attorney, served with the U.S. Army Security Agency during Viet Nam and was an Assistant Attorney General in Alabama for six years before going into private practice. He has published four books of poetry. Starlight and Other Stories is his first book of fiction. Many of these stories feel inspired by the author’s experiences. George goes into detail about characters’ appearances – every clothing choice, hairstyle, and environment is noted. Yet, it’s a challenge to determine the time period. In that way, the stories achieve a timeless quality; these stories often reflect on the characters’ pasts and a sense of nostalgia persists.
The lead story is a novella, “Starlight,” in which a successful rock-and-roll star is driven to track down his birth parents. In his search, he meets good and selfless people, discovers major surprises along the way, and perhaps launches his life and career in a new direction. In its use of irony and coincidence, “Starlight” foreshadows much of what follows in the collection’s eight short stories. Indeed, even O. Henry might feel daunted by George’s coincidental maneuverings.
George’s elaborate use of exposition – especially in occasionally stiff expository dialogue and one very long letter in “Starlight” – sometimes delays the stories’ getting to the point. His intricate plotting, however, is usually intriguing enough that you want to stick with it and see where it’s headed. George spins a good yarn and his authorial pride in providing detailed backstories is obvious.
There are few antagonists in these stories, although “Kinfolks” has some villains. Most of the characters are just doing their best, making do with what they’re given. Even the most far-fetched of the stories, “Searching for the Gwork,” maintains a benign tone in what might be threatening circumstances. Class differences are generously examined in a story like “Trapped” and the manipulation of stereotypes is entertainingly revealed in “Smokey Johnson’s Guitar.”
In his new fiction, Edward M. George provides pleasant, unhurried, and unthreatening diversions.
Edward Journey, a retired university professor and theatre professional living in Birmingham, regularly shares his essays in the online journal “Professional Southerner” (www.professionalsoutherner.com).
