The town of Furnass is dying. Since the steel mills closed in the 1980s, people have been leaving. Nowadays, Furnass is a shadow of its former self, haunted by the poor, the sick, and the old. A retired police detective who once mistakenly shot a man. An elderly veteran living through his final days. A former pastor atoning for his past sins. The best they can expect is closure. The short story collection REDDING UP (More Stories of Furnass, Book 10) by Richard Snodgrass deals with people and lives many would prefer to ignore, afraid their misfortune might somehow be contagious. They would be wrong to do so. This book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit which author sketches with vivid portraits of flawed and all-too-human characters. Their hardships made them tough and gave them a unique capacity to accept change – sometimes despite themselves. Snodgrass complements his stories with black and white photographs of Pennsylvania towns that inspired his fictional setting.
The title of the book comes from the expression meaning to clear things up – and it feels that way. These are tales about memories, regrets, and earning (or offering) forgiveness. On another level, REDDING UP feels like Snodgrass is tying up loose ends. Throughout stories, he invokes characters from his past works set in Furnass: Reverend Bryce Orr, Vietnam War veteran Paul Slater, and families Sutcliffe and Lyle. Such an approach is both a virtue and a flaw. Placing REDDING UP in a broader fictional universe adds more depth to the book. However, the unfamiliar reader will miss out on this rich layer of meaning. The author’s website provides practical information about his setting, including maps, but that isn’t the same as the experience of reading his other books.
There are a few technical issues. Snodgrass’ style leans toward long, occasionally rambling sentences. While this makes sense for stream-of-consciousness parts, it results in some awkward dialogues. There are missing words as well: pronouns, verbs, etc. But aside from these minor quibbles, REDDING UP is a small miracle. It is a sad, memorable, and humane testament to the innumerable post-industrial tragedies of the Rust Belt. These stories may be as removed from the American Dream as they can be. But they are of the American Reality.
Melancholic and poignant, Richard Snodgrass’ short story collection REDDING UP is a testament to the perseverance of the human spirit.
~Danijel Štriga, for IndieReader