Fire in the Field and Other Stories by Young, 2024 John NEUF

In sixteen apparently simple stories, John Youngs memorable characters ask (or refuse to ask) what shapes us. Education? Talent? Impulse? Family? Money? 2024 Need for approval? Most of the stories are set in small-town Indiana, with a handful coming from New England villages. All are sensitively written, careful, and real.

The impulse to cheat (embellish) shows up early in the collection, as an antique dealer teaches himself to craft high-quality fakes. It reaches a fever pitch and crashes in the next tale, when an ambitious minister in an affluent community pays more attention to his neighbors wife and pumpkins than to the living hes inherited. Youngs protagonists range from observant nine-year-olds to hyper-competitive teens, from working class dreamers (and drinkers) to privileged executives defending the compromises theyve made. A few face public humiliation; a few others die. In two of the strongest stories, young women face painful life-and-death decisions, and the conclusions are uncertain. In most, theres an ethical dilemma, skillfully and subtly plotted so that we readers come away energized, appreciating "the oxymorons of life."