The Book of Lost Fathers: Stories (Johns Hopkins: Poetry and Fiction) - Tapa dura

"Robley Wilson's mastery of the short-story form is obvious from the first paragraph of his fifth collection, The Book of Lost Fathers... All of Robley Wilson's skill comes to bear in 'Dorothy and Her Friends,' the lone novella in The Book of Lost Fathers... Wilson's sensitivity and probity make this piece as psychologically complex and as well-crafted as the rest of his fine collection." -- Judy Doenges, Washington Post Book World

"This haunting collection of stories is told from the points of view of jilted women, widowed wives, bewildered children and grieving men. Characters struggle to deal with the absence of fathers, whether from desertion, natural death or the 'gradual dissolving away' of family life... The last image in the final story, 'A Day of Splendid Omens,' finds a grieving woman cradling her young daughter as she whispers stories about the girl's dead father. The image captures the tone of the entire collection, in which Wilson adeptly illustrates in an unsentimental manner the sometimes devastating powers of family, love and loss." -- Publishers Weekly

"In all these stories, Wilson exercises a great but quiet skill. His devices are subtle and often startling, and he constructs each story so that the happenstance of an individual life takes on a consuming interest. His unobtrusive craftsmanship draws the reader closer to the characters and to the story itself... Wilson's stories accomplish what they are supposed to -- not the self-reflective showing-off of what the author can do, but the complete involvement of the reader in a true reflection of life." -- Edward Southern, Orlando Sentinel

"[A] highly recommendable collection. No one gets out of these stories without having wisdom stuck to their fingertips... As hard in grim fact as these stories are (and they hang together like a neighborhood), they are nevertheless refreshing. In a time when fiction is increasingly dominated by the fantastic, a solid inquiry into the lives of ordinary folks is gratifying. Wilson's characters live next door; they appear in our bathroom mirrors; they bear the spiritual and physical afflictions we do." -- John Kennedy, Antioch Review

"Why is it the worst things happen when you're most relaxed and your head's empty of everything serious?" These words, from the narrator of the story "Grief," are at the heart of The Book of Lost Fathers, the new collection of short fiction by Robley Wilson. These stories depict ordinary, recognizable people dealing with loneliness, loss, and mortality. A woman and her father experience an earthquake, and the incident reinforces the frailty of the dying man. A man must confront his fiancée's past when he realizes the identity of the "stranger" they meet on vacation. A best man arrives late for his friend's wedding, only to learn that the groom has died hours before.

Combining an evocative and compassionate style with familiar characters and enduring messages, Wilson treats fundamental questions of love, suffering, and humanity. His "lost fathers" provide a common thread that weaves together stories about fathers, husbands, and lovers, past and present -- and the women whose lives they change.