Eliza Clark burst on the scene with the publication of Boy Parts and Penance. She’s followed up those novels with a short story collection which puts on full display her talents for creating interesting characters who find themselves in challenging and, yes, surreal situations.
Clark gets off to a good start with “Build a Body Like Mine,” tapping into our obsession with obtaining the perfect body. The narrator has fought a life-long battle with her weight. While her partner, Shadi, manages to keep her willowy figure without starving herself, the narrator endures a daily struggle with the bathroom scale. But without any dieting, she begins to loose weight, the pounds just melting off. Why not profit from her situation? She shares her secret with an engaged audience and we can just imagine how many will push the button to purchase the wormy solution.
Eliza Clark (Photo by Robin Silas Christian)
In “The Problem Solver,” Juliet goes to Oscar, seeking a sympathetic ear to hear that she was raped. Oscar, however, isn’t ready to listen; he wats revenge. Literally dragging Juliet to the local pub, he finds her assailant and violently assaults him. Juliet is so shocked she can do little but observe the battle. She will, however, have to endure the fallout as the ending texts show, between those who support her and others who condemn her.
The short story that gives the collection its name, “She’s Always Hungry,” is a standout, a multilayered portrait of the fishermen and their relatives and friends who wage a war for survival, not only with the sea, but with a mysterious creature that comes from the dark murky waters. We learn a great deal just from the characters’ names – Mary Mountjoy’s Sammy, Violet Fisher’s Daniel, Mother White, Mother Andrews – how intertwined are the lives of those who live in this community. While John, a young man trying to prove himself to both the men and women in his life, catches the sea creature. (The description of this fish-like being is brilliant.) Desperate for the love and attention lacking in his life, he quickly bonds with her, succumbing to her evil plan. A satisfying, shocking, twisty tale.
Another naive young man is the subject in “Goth GF.” The goth in question is Willow, who works at a bar surrounded by younger people who are simultaneously put off and obsessed with her. Willow is not one to hold back, criticizing fellow baristas Carmen and Clare, saying their makeup is sloppy. The one who really falls for Willow’s act is the youngest worker whose mere presence sends him into a sexual spin. What he wants more than ever, however, is not to have sex with her but to be demeaned by her. To each his own.
Keith’s mom is worried about him in “Nightstalkers.” As the two stock shelves in a local grocery, he tells her he doesn’t want to go back to school but wants to concentrate on his band – Si-son and Gar-mom-kel. But Keith and his partner, Tommy, spend more time robbing homes in Playa Dorada than they do practicing their music.
Clark’s imagination and her ability to give form to her ideas results in an intriguing collection, each story unique and, in some cases, material for a much larger story. She taps into cultural beliefs and biases without diminishing the people who represent them.
She’s Always Hungry
Eliza Clark
Top photo: Bigstock
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