TRANSMUTATION

Ten stories of transformation—both real and magical.

On the one hand, transmutation means transformation; on the other, it may suggest change of a specific sort—produced by alchemy or even radioactive decay. The stories in DiFrancesco’s book flirt with both, moving between realistic situations and gothic plots to show us characters in the midst of becoming their real selves, changing into something new, or even being altered. In “Inside my Saffron Cave,” Junie is an angry trans teenager who is waiting to escape her mother and her mother’s abusive boyfriend so she can transition and become who she wants to be. In “The Ledger of the Deep,” a more hopeful piece, Sawyer’s dad embraces his son’s new identity as a trans man by changing the name of their boat from Sara to Sawyer. Both stories feel a little simple—the boyfriend too cruel, the father too quick to understand. Instead, DiFrancesco’s gothic tales, which are wonderfully creepy, are the real winners here. In “A Little Procedure,” based on Rosemary Kennedy’s life, Lily receives a lobotomy when her promiscuity threatens her family’s reputation. But unlike Kennedy, who was disabled by the operation, Lily’s altered intellect doesn’t stop her from getting revenge. A hired girl goes missing in “Hinkypunk” after she gets too close to her boss’s granddaughter. That night, mysterious lights begin appearing in the marsh that the grandmother dismisses as nothing more than marsh gas. The mother in “The Chuck Berry Tape Massacre” loses her grasp on reality and drags her young daughters into her madness until the girls are forever damaged. Another narrative strand about a musician finding a tape made by the oldest daughter and its impact on his career feels like a distraction from the real pathos of the family’s story.

A mixed bag with a few standouts.