#364 Family Reunion- Kirsten Valdez-Quade
Claire lived with her mother, her step-dad, and her sister
in a Mormon-dominated community. They were atheist, and for a young girl being
that kind of different was hard:
-“By age eleven, Claire understood that the best way to
overcome her disadvantages was to convert.”
-“At church and school, Claire hid the truth about her own
family”
-“Claire became adept at playing Mormon, and while she never
fooled anyone, at least she didn’t offend anyone, either.”
She found a good friend, Morgan, who didn’t seem to mind
their differences, until Claire was invited to go with Morgan’s family to a
family reunion. Only it wasn’t a family reunion. Claire could either be saved,
cast into the outer darkness, or just freaked out by another disturbed,
alcoholic parent.
Overall I’m enjoying this collection of stories. However, as
in many of them, this one could have been pared down by ten or so pages. I find
too much dialogue that doesn’t add to the story much. In a longer medium, such
excess might add pace, or character depth, but in a short story just adds
length.
After one whole year of short stories, I’m starting to
believe that great short stories have meaning or intent behind most of its
content. A short story has a certain shape based on where it’s headed and where
it’s been. If there is something we don’t need to hear, most likely it should
be cut. Of course, there are always exceptions, and I reserve the right to be
wrong on this or change my mind.
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