BEAUTIFUL MAN
& Other Stories
by Jack Mauro
BEAUTIFUL MAN & Other Stories (Beautiful Man) is a collection of twelve
short stories written by Jack Mauro. Short story is not my genre; I have never
read – much less reviewed – a collection of short stories. These stories,
however, all deal with relationships, a subject about which I am always eager
to read. Having issued that caveat, I share my thoughts about this collection.
In a way,
the book appears to be about what the title suggests, with a beautiful man in
almost every story. However, ˆBeautiful Man
is a collection of stories about dysfunctional relationships. In this
collection, Mauro does an exceptional job of presenting the nuances of
humanity. ‘Presenting’ does Mauro a disservice, however; he probes these
nuances, delving into some of the darkest in people.
Some of the
short stories demonstrate dysfunctional relationships created by conflict. In
one of the stories, for example, two adult sons, along with their wives, plan a
Christmas treat for their mother, Mo: an hour ride in a horse drawn carriage.
Conflict arises immediately over the question of who sits where: “the most
important thing about this misbegotten treat for Mo is who will face whom and
who will flank Mo.” pp. 112-113. There is also conflict within the story about
who will pay for the ride for Mo, as one brother can afford it while the other
brother does not have the same amount of money and cannot afford it. Neither
son nor neither daughter-in-law are cognizant of the fact that Mo is aware of
this latter conflict and has already paid for the entire ride herself. It becomes clear that the characters, caught
up in these various conflicts, are out of touch with the reality surrounding
Mo.
Some of the other stories reflect
dysfunctional relationships created by silence or omission. The main character
of one of the stories works very hard to
set up his dream, a place called the “Music and Coffee”. His girlfriend does
not like the project; his friend helps with all the hard work to make the Music
and Coffee a reality. It is a big success. One year later, the Music and Coffee
was vandalized. Because there was no break in, he knows the vandal was either
his friend or his girlfriend, the only two who have access to a key.
Nonetheless, he chooses to simply ignore this and continue the Music and
Coffee. In another story, the father of an adopted daughter vows to protect the
girl from her mother. The beautiful couple had been unable to have a child of
their own; they adopt the little girl when she is one year old. The father
realizes that the mother is lavishing love and excessive gifts on the girl, not
out of love but so the girl will not be upset when she is supplanted by a child
that the couple might conceive themselves. The couple was told that there is no
medical reason precluding them from conceiving a child. The father realizes
that he is the one to blame; it is, he realizes, a “visceral refusal of his
body to give her a child….” p. 103. He vows that his wife will never have his
biological child. He decides that he will leave his wife, but only after she
becomes unable to conceive any longer.
And yet
other dysfunctional relationships demonstrated in Beautiful Man result from unsupported surmises. In the book’s final story, a cousin, Mary, comes to visit from Ireland
for a few weeks. Although her cousin, Colin, has a sexual relationship with her
throughout her visit, he is derisive of her. She is plump, plain, dull,
country, inconvenient and irritating, and soft and pliant. Colin shows Mary a
music video on the computer, and he is surprised to learn that she had already
seen it. While he drives Mary to the airport for her return trip home, Colin
notices the differences between her actual Irish accent and his faux brogue.
Much to his surprise, Colin gets an inkling of Mary’s having seen right through
him. Mary considers telling him about “boys she has known in Bantry, boys with
real accents, boys with no evil in them because they have nothing to
prove,…[b]oys who made love to her and did not feel as though they were
bestowing a favor. But she does not, because he would not be interested.” p.
272. When Colin puts his arms out to hug
her, Mary refuses; when he hugs her anyway, Mary does not reciprocate. Colin
sees a “pretty girl” passing in the airport, and he sees in her face that she
sees the truth of the situation.
Mauro
masterly captures the nuances of many of our relationships. He captures what
many of us do not want to face, much less talk – or read – about. Nonetheless, Beautiful Man is an interesting and powerful collection of stories.
Highly Recommended.
The copy of BEAUTIFUL
MAN & Other Stories that I reviewed is a 2012 iUniverse book; all page
references are to this version. The book was provided by the author for my
honest and independent review.
