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I was even more impressed with this short story collection on #reread. Ohlin is a master of the form, and I *highly* recommend this book!

“Casino” captures the anger and heartbreak of mothering an addict. “Money, Geography, Youth” and “Service Intelligence” both express the difficulty of defining your personal ethics as a young adult. “The Point of No Return” is an interesting look at friendship and chronic illness. All winners in this bunch!!

I have so many books I intend to #reread, but somehow I get stuck on where to start. So my #bookspin this month is a spin on this wheel of rereads. I spun this short story collection, which is lucky because I‘m having a short story moment right now. Let‘s see what I think this time!

@Lindy was right. This is a fantastic story collection. Pulling from situations as diverse as a mother running into her missing daughter‘s dealer (Casino) to a cult based on studying the Classics (Brooks Brothers Guru), Ohlin introduces readers gripping characters. Two others I enjoyed were coming of age stories - Service Intelligence about a young mystery shopper and Risk Management about a teen returning from Ghana to a big surprise. 🤩🙌🏻

“Child. We are done for in the most remarkable ways.” —Brigit Pegeen Kelly
In this remarkable collection of short stories, one of the best that I‘ve read so far this year, people‘s desires are the source of difficulty and pain… but what is to be done? We want what we want. I want more by Alix Ohlin. #CanLit #LGBTQ #shadowgiller2021

I first read Mulvaney‘s book, The Woman I Knew, when I was thirteen years old, an impressionable age. Although I should say that I was impressionable at all ages, especially where books were concerned. I wanted books to press themselves upon my body and mind, to change me in every way a person could be changed.

Oszkar is disgusting, potbellied and scruffy bearded. To this party he has worn shorts that fall below his knees and a yellow t-shirt that reads “Silence is golden. Duct tape is silver.” Looking at him, she thinks about people interviewed on the news after their neighbour commits some terrible crime, saying, “He seemed like such a nice guy. You would never suspect.” Oszkar is not such a person. You would suspect him of anything.

They break for soda and chips, which his mother brings downstairs on a tray. The look she gives Aziza broadcasts sharp betrayal; she wanted Aziza to lure Tim outside, instead of joining him here in artificial reality. But Aziza can imagine nothing more artificial than the reality outside, the hum of vehicles disappearing into garages, the angry wheeze of leaf blowers operated by men in masks, like a gardening militia.

“I think I‘m burning out,” she said to Sam, and he thought she meant on work, but she meant on everything. Sam was stable and good for her, absorbing whatever she threw at him, the tofu of husbands, but it didn‘t help. She considered an affair, but it seemed like too much work. Anyway, her days were full of meetings and carpools; there was no time for malfeasance.

Ohlin's short fiction hit me in all the right ways. These 13 glowing stories each different from the last were full of characters that were flawed with the pain and sting of their own realities, pushing on the edge of their existence, wanting something just out of their grasp. Ohlin's hypnotic prose pulled me in with the first story. Her empathetic characters shined throughout. Highly recommend! #bookreview #canlit