I have never been a huge fan of short stories. I prefer the novel length format so I can spend more time with the characters that I have come to know and short stories tend to cut me off just when I want to learn more about a character or a situation. But, this collection came highly recommended to me and there is a blurb on the back cover from Alison McGhee (Rainlight) comparing Daniel Stolar s stories to those of Jhumpa Lahiri (Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Interpreter of Maladies ). With the recommendation and a blurb from an author I admire, I was willing to give this collection a chance and I m glad that I did.

This is Daniel Stolar s debut collection and it is superb. There are eight stories, and they share common themes and characteristics. Almost all of them are set in the St. Louis area (or the characters are from St. Louis), and they deal with the themes of loss, friendship, trying to fit in, and love. There is not a weak story in the collection, but there are some that I found to be more memorable than the others. The first is the first story of the collection Jack Landers is My Friend , which deals with Jack returning to his high school reunion and reconnecting with his friend, the beautiful Kara. As Stolar tells the story, we are shown glimpses of the past, enough to show us exactly how Jack came to be at this place in his life. Actually, that is another common thread that runs through these stories: the past and present are weaved together so well that the story is stronger and you can t imagine it being told without the flashback. Another standout story is Crossing Over which has a white college student pledging to a black fraternity. I didn t expect to like this one because of the topic, but it ended up being a highlight of the collection.

This is a collection that I very much wanted to like, but my expectations and my hopes were far exceeded by just how good these stories are. I don t know if Mr. Stolar is at work on another collection, or even on a novel, but I am already looking forward to whatever he publishes next. One thing that I should mention about this collection is that these are not upbeat or cheerful stories. Even though I liked each of the stories, I needed to take a break in between stories, there was that much emotional power contained here. But every time I took a break, I was looking forward to starting the next story. That s the mark of a good storyteller: one who leaves you wanting more.