Below is a review of the time I spent with a book club in Minnesota, written by Sara Peoples. I want to thank her for inviting me; I had a great time discussing Salt Creek Anthology.
07/29/11 - Book Club Review,
Salt Creek Anthology
by Sara Peoples
It seemed fitting that we would meet in a house tucked in the woods. You can't talk about other people, even if they are fictional, in front of them. You have to be somewhere quiet, somewhere out of the way, which is where our book club chose to meet to discuss "Salt Creek Anthology" with Jason Fisk.
We started innocently enough, asking about Fisk's writing process and comparing which stories we hooked into, as well as marveling at the "craziness" of some of the characters, but the safety of our surroundings and the succinct honesty of Fisk's writing pulled our conversation from the outside in.
What began as a discussion about fictional others quickly turned to ourselves and our own little bits of crazy. We praised Fisk for his ability to hand-pick what is absolutely essential about a story, entertain us with it, and then make us look twice for a glimpse we thought we caught of ourselves - all in two to four paragraphs.
Hidden in the green of the woods, on the pages of this little green book, we found our neighbors, families, fears, and hillarities. The size of this gem should have foreshadowed our evening-we came together thinking we would "gossip" about these stories and relish in their absurdity only to find ourselves discussing the truth about ourselves and humanity.
We observed the standard party progression of time, beginning with drinks and finishing with pie, but like the book, when it was done, we all wished for more.
*If you, or someone you know, would be interested in a book discussion about Salt Creek Anthology, please contact me at fiskjason@gmail.com.
