With Survival Skills: Stories (Ashland Creek Press, 2013), Jean Ryan sets a series of such traps that manage – while we are inside, caught up in the narrative – to pry our eyes away from ourselves to gaze, momentarily, at the living world around us. Plants, insects, and animals inhabit these tales with as much relevance as people. As a horticultural enthusiast and obvious animal lover, the author parts a curtain revealing the vulnerability and interconnectedness of all life – humans, flora, and fauna alike. Her characters, human and otherwise, live in the real world, where there is consumption of ribs, grilled salmon, and oven-ready pork tenderloins. These individuals are subject to accidents, calamities, and change. And yet, Ryan’s stories are not only of endings, but of healing, and survival.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 22:17:00 +0000