reviewed by
Lola Sparks
Once upon a time, Louise Marley was a concert and opera singer; now, she writes stories infused with lyrical phrase work and musical mysteries. I first discovered Marley through her novel-length works, and am pleased to now discover this facet of her.
Absalom's Mother, from Fairwood Press, collects ten of Marley's short stories in a small, handsome package. The title story, first published in 2006's Futureshocks anthology, remains topical and relevant today. What would a group of mothers do to protect their children from the horrors of war? What wouldn't they do?
This collection ranges from the lighthearted (the antics of a barn fairy in "Small in the Saddle") to the disturbing (a stigmatic woman in "Body and Blood"); whatever you are in the mood for, the chances are good you will find it here. Marley plays with one of her favorite sports, baseball, in "Diamond Girls, and toys with the idea of a somewhat reverse Harry Potter in "Starchild Wondersmith." What if a supposed-to-be-magical child was schooled with normal kids, and discovered his magical talent among them?
My favorite of the collection is, without a doubt, "p dolce," in which a man travels back in time to discover something about Brahms. What exactly did p dolce mean on his manuscripts? Of course he learns something entirely different--and made me wish for a novel-length telling of it all.
In fact, if I have one complaint about Absalom's Mother, it's that it goes by too quickly. Ten stories...how can there not be more?
Marley digs into the heart of her characters, managing to create living, breathing people upon the page. I never once doubted these people were true, that they were fighting for what they believed in. Please make no mistake, Louise Marley is still singing.
