I have to make a confession regarding the way I have been reading short stories recently. I picked the books I picked simply to be able to have read that author, even though they might not be famous or even well-received, but I wanted to have read a certain amount of authors in a given year, and had to make it up by reading short story collections one story at a time. It was a mistake, and I won’t do it again next year (although I have one, which I will read in the summer, but only one. I am also reading three other before the year is out, but those collections are more my speed). Having said that. David Gates’ The Wonders of the Invisible World, is not a bad book, like most of the other collections I have read this year, it is just boring and forgetful. He is a simple storyteller, a little more meat to his prose than a Carver, but less than Updike, and his stories never have any surprises or twists, even if they would make the story better. They are just about people and how they interact. To some, that would not be a problem, but to me, it can get boring when plot is tossed aside in favor of dry realism. Not all the stories fall flat. Surprisingly, the two best ones center on gay themes, which would usually put up a social justice red flag for me, but these two are pretty good, and remain the highlight of the collection. “Star Baby” tells the story of a gay man who must take care of her drug-addict sister’s kid while she is in rehab. It raises a few good questions on what it means for a kid to live with a gay relative and genuine concern on how the stereotypical gay lifestyle might adversely affect him. “The Intruder” is a very funny story, with the funniest coming-out anecdote you may here. All in all, a plain collection with a few bright spots. I can only blame myself for reading books in such a way, and I have learned my lesson.
Rating: 4/5
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