Short Fiction

Finished April 10
Salt River by James Sallis
This lovely piece of fiction reads like poetry to me. So much is intimated at rather than spoken and yet is understood. The genre label on the back says this is mystery, but I would not describe it as such. There are some things that happen that the main character, Turner, feels are linked, and he is able to show how by the end, but that never seems to be the main focus of the book. I loved the nature that pervades the book and yet it was definitely not a gentle presence here. There is much loss here and yet despite all the 'getting over things' that the characters have to do, the book is hopeful. As one of the characters says at the book's end, "I am crying because the world is so beautiful".