Years ago when my children were very young, I could not wait to put all three to bed at 7 o’clock and read my new McCall’s magazine. I loved all the short stories. Unfortunately, I have not read short stories since then, until I was sent Pam Durban’s latest book, titled “Soon.”
Composed of 11 stories, with one featuring three vignettes, the themes vary from rebellion to a woman rowing all night for her freedom. Other topics covered are a woman’s attempt to protect her husband as she shared all his memories of war and death, the adoptive child who still waits for his birth mother to come and claim him, and the death of a mother.
Each story is crafted with a theme of love, loss, and the healing power of storytelling. They emphasize that we must lose, find and hold on to one another. The title story was selected by John Updike for “The Best American Short Stories of the Century.” Among her many accomplishments, Durban is the Doris Betts Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Sue Monk Kidd’s third novel, “The Invention of Wings,” is jam-packed with action, history, plot and characters, two of whom are Sarah Grimke, a mistress, and Hetty, also called Handful, a slave. Presented to Sarah on her 11th birthday and resented by her because of her views on slavery, Sarah nevertheless develops a true bond with Handful, even teaching her to read, which was a no-no back then. It causes Sarah to be banished from her father’s library and destroys her hopes of becoming a lawyer.
Based on two historical figures, Sarah and her sister, Angelina, who were leaders in the early 19th century social movements of abolitionism and women’s rights, this book is powerful. There is a large cast of characters, including the two men who vied for Sarah’s hand and the numerous slaves at the Charleston planation. My favorite character was Handful’s mother, an expert seamstress with thread and needle who teaches Handful to do the same. Despite all their hardships, the mother and daughter tell their story in handmade quilts.
Kidd was a visiting writer-in-residence at Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities in Southern Pines and the author of “The Secret Life of Bees” and “The Mermaid Chair.”