Currently Reading: Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

Monday, April 23, 2012

Not Where I Started From


I admit I have been reading more collections of short stories than I am accustomed, to, and its not always my favorite genre of writing to read.  That said, I don't think this is why I wasn't very impressed with Kate Wheller's collection of stories in Not Where I Started From. 

Based on her short personal bio on the back cover flap -- that she was born in Oklahoma, raised in South America, and has extensively traveled in Europe, Australia, and Asia, and that she is an ex-Buddhist nun -- I was sort of anticipating the international perspective of the stories.  For example, the opening story Improving My Average is about a young girl who has lived in numerous countries and cities in South America in her short childhood, while the last story, Ringworm, follows a young woman in a Buddhist convent in Burma.  But I felt that despite her characters' vast traveling experience, they were stunted and incomplete people, lost in the world and looking for a trite sense of connection - and I couldn't help but feel that it was Kate Wheeler and not her characters that I disliked.

I was also vaguely annoyed by the several stories that contained the plot "American goes to Asia to study Buddhism and be enlightened," which after the third time became even more cliche than you would expect.  Another pet peeve was the dearth of healthy sexual relationships - which perhaps compounded my distaste for the stories.  It seemed like none of her main characters has a positive sexual encounter, and some are truly abusive.  They were just unplesant and unenlightening to read.

I'm not giving up on short stories as a genre - but I think the standard is higher for impressing me when the author has such little time to develop interesting characters and compelling situations.


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