TWO DESPERADOS

Characters in this volume of short stories shuffle through lives steeped in regret, uncertainty, and the inevitability of death.

In the opening tale, “The Woman Who Loved Trees,” an aging poet writes his latest verse. But as he reflects on a past that entails fame and praise that no longer interest him, he may be anticipating and welcoming death. Others in this book are more fearful of the end. Rascoe, for example, a blacksmith in “Ironwork,” scoffs at ostentatious newspaper headlines. But as 1999 comes to a close, those headlines, coupled with Rascoe’s ominous dreams, make Y2K a truly daunting forthcoming event. But Lowell’s stories aren’t typically bleak, notwithstanding the despondency that many of her characters endure. In “The Frog Prince,” Teresa Slade is on a “surprise vacation” with her husband, Ray, and her daughter, Claire. Though her overwhelming unhappiness is apparent, Teresa clings to hope, however fleeting it is. As in the author’s earlier work, the tales here are set mostly in Arizona and neighboring states, including the outstanding eponymous tale. In it, Elizabeth Ryding leaves her contemptible boyfriend in Alaska and returns to Arizona, her home state. But as her mother is oddly unavailable, she stays with her delightfully assertive Aunt Tinny along with, quite possibly, a ghost. Lowell displays a knack for indelible, concise descriptions and subtle humor. “The Witch of the Stacks,” for one, begins with: “Long, long ago, almost before computers.” In other instances, characters provide the charm, like Aunt Tinny—“Ahnt,” she repeatedly stresses—who answers her door with a sizable Rottweiler at her side and a hefty Colt .45 in her hand. The author also plays with different narrative forms: In “Love and Death,” a collection (within this collection) of “short short stories,” there’s flash fiction as well as a fragmented tale showcasing a killer’s frightening perspective.

Another sublime compilation from a consistently impressive wordsmith.