Voices on the Stair

Voices on the Stair, Elizabeth Routen, Xlibris Corporation, 2000

This group of contemporary stories, written over the last few years, includes the story of a young boy, whose father, a cop, committed suicide, who has a difficult relationship with his mother's new boyfriend, a man who thinks that every boy should enjoy deer hunting. An elderly couple are apart at the holidays, because she is in a nursing home. One day, he discovers that the one thing he has kept with which to remember her, a black mohair scarf, is full of moth holes, so he heads to the mall to replace it, not an easy thing no matter what your age. A local bar has a weekly Liars' Club meeting. Philippe, one of the regulars, tells everyone about Cherise, his girlfriend. The trouble is, Philippe's real name is Peter, he's an accountant, and he lives with his handicapped sister.

A group of women meet monthly in a restaurant and talk about their relationships with men, or, more likely, the lack thereof. A man meets a woman in a diner. He apparently says the wrong thing to her, and she walks off in a huff, leaving an untouched cup of coffee. The waitress, and then the cook, insist that he pay for the coffee, something he refuses to do. The situation deteriorates until the man pulls out a small knife, just so he can get out of there. The waitress falls into the knife, and the cook starts screaming, rather loudly. There is a story about a trip to a palm reader.

In her introduction, the author says that these stories are not intended as a Great Contribution to Literature. But if they can get the reader to forget, for a while, about the dishes in the sink that need washing, or the colicky baby that will wake up at midnight, then that is all that matters. In that respect, she succeeds very well. This is a first-rate group of stories that is well worth reading.