Review: Thunderstruck by Elizabeth McCracken

So often short stories leave me wanting me more, but Elizabeth McCracken is one of the few authors (Sam Shepard is another) whose careful and pregnant prose fills a small space to perfection. The nine pieces in Thunderstruck are each complete and utterly satisfying.

Although every story in Thunderstruck stands on its own, overall the collection explores death or loss or loneliness. Yet the stories are not depressing in a conventional sense; McCraken shows her characters in their most unguarded moments, and in those moments of vulnerability they remind us of our ourselves.

A few of the stories ("Juliet," about a library patron, and "Property," about a widower) involve unrelated characters, but most of the pieces focus on parents (or caregivers) and children. For example, in "Something Amazing," a woman copes the loss of her young daughter, in "Thunderstruck" a teenage girl changes her family forever, and in "The House of Two Three-Legged Dogs," a couple learns their grown son's true worth.

Despite the darkness, the burden isn't more than we can bear. McCracken occasionally lets her sense of humor shine, and sometimes the broken people find kindred spirits, and through those connections they have moments of, if not peace, at least understanding.

Thunderstruck is a powerful, emotional collection that should be read slowly and savored. Forget what you think you know about short stories; Elizabeth McCracken will leave you, well, thunderstruck.

For more on Elizabeth McCracken and Thunderstruck, see Largehearted Boy's Book Notes for this collection.

Published by Random House / The Dial Press, 2014
ISBN-13: 9780385335775
Source: Review, audio (see review policy)
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