I just read Riverside Blues by writer and poet Casey Mensing. This book is a collection of short stories about all sorts of things from greed and crime to drug use and loss. Most have a sense of Bob Dylan like melancholy that makes you think about yourself and your life. I know that happened with me.
My first thought after reading a few of the stories was that the last one would tie them all together but after a few more I realized each story and the characters in them were to diverse for togetherness. Still, most of the stories, although short, are compelling reads and bring you in quickly and easily. I found myself being a bit disappointed when some of these stories, there is one about two drug dealers having to get rid of some bodies, just ended without a complete resolution. Sure the story was done but what happened after? Did the guy get caught by the cops? Or did a bigger fish get him?
But maybe this was the point. It made you want to read the next one. But maybe we are not supposed to know. Maybe the end comes from us after thinking about each one. What we think the end is-what we would like it to be instead of being told what it is. All in all this is a good read.
This book is available through Lambright Press at Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and both the US and UK versions of Amazon.
