Melanie Rae Thon

Melanie Rae Thon's new short story collection explores the themes of love, guilt, grief, and redemption. Thon's brilliant lyrical prose transcends the gritty mundane into spiritual timelessness. Most of these stories are old favorites gathered into one volume. There are, however, a few new gems which I devoured.

In the short story, "Confessions of Raymond Good Bird," Thon's use of word choice paints a portrait of a man delivered from his earthly sins to eternal life in love. Thon describes Raymond's scarred face as "a face to love: without love, there was no way to look at you." When Raymond returns home after a twenty-two year absence, Thon describes the homecoming as "a song inside you." The family rejoices like the Biblical father in the tale of the prodigal son. No matter how many people Raymond killed during the Vietnam War, he was forgiven for "blessed was the God who hears, who had kept you alive and sustained you and delivered you whole to this moment." When Raymond dies, his soul is delivered not to Hell but into the arms of the Vietnamese mother whom he killed during the war. This Vietnamese mother becomes "the mother of God." In her arms, both she and Raymond find "only comfort." That is true deliverance.… (altro)

Absolutely heartbreaking and lyrical. Thon weaves a haunting cyclical narrative told through an intimate point-of-view of a deaf aunt whose niece and nephew try to escape their past only to create their future within a flawed and equally troubled human world.

Flint is a juvenile delinquent on the run after escaping prison. He takes his little sister, Cecile, with him on his journey out of state. But a series of misguided judgments, bravado, and ignorance end disastrously.

Thon has the ability to transform the most grim circumstances into holy redemption through her keen observation and mystical use of language. I cried from sorrow, joy, and fear throughout reading this novel. I am left a changed person through walking in someone else's moccasins.

A must read for anyone needing forgiveness or wanting to understand those who do. A must read for anyone living in the human condition.… (altro)