Book Review: Strangers of Different Ink edited by Richard & Allen Okewole
Disclaimer: I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it.
This anthology of short stories appears to be primarily by authors in the Philadelphia area. Other than that, there doesn’t seem to be a particular theme, and their genres vary widely. The introduction by Tony Tokunbo Fernandez is a short modern poem. I’m afraid I don’t get modern poetry.
- “A Lot Can Happen in 26 Minutes” by Dennis Finocchiaro. A college student counts smiles on a train. The count is zero, until–a sweet story.
- “Zadie” by Eric McKinley. A young man discovers the true love of his life, which is not the title character, or the girl he thought it might be. A turning point in life.
- “Capeless City” by Roman Columbo. The city of Philadelphia has no superheroes, and they’d like to keep it that way. Unfortunately for Super Powers Investigator Dashiell “Dash” Cain, he may not be able to deliver on that. This is the story that intrigued me enough to request the book.
- “Historical Fiction of the Marquis DeSade and Rose Keller” by Cathy T. Colborn. I’m not sure of the historical nature of Rose Keller. A feisty young woman of Irish descent is intrigued by the writing and mystique of the infamous Marquis, and accepts his invitation to visit him. There’s a difference between romantic fantasy and the reality of relationships with a cruel man, though. No onscreen sex.
- “Icky” by Bruce Franchi. A high school boy whose father is career military witnesses the disintegration of his parents’ marriage and his mother’s death. There’s a sudden twist at the end which makes this story seem more like the first chapter or two in a young adult fantasy book. As a result, it’s not quite satisfying.
- “The Run” by Peter Baroth. A law school student is pressured into taking some acquaintances to buy drugs. It doesn’t turn out quite as planned, but is the outcome worse or better?
- “The Death of St. Clare” by Jordan Blum. This is an Uncle Tom’s Cabin fanfic, covering an incident that happened off-stage in the original book. Augustine St. Clare was a relatively “good” slave-owner who had resolved to free Tom, but is killed in a tavern brawl, which leads to Tom being sold to Simon Legree. It’s an interesting study of St. Clare’s character, and how slavery warped people’s thinking. Period racism makes this an uncomfortable read.
- “The Generous Bastard” by Solomon Babber. A contrast of two couples, one long-married, the other just starting out in their relationship. Based on a true story.
- “The Barber of Suez” by K. Fred Mills Jr. A mixed-race young man goes for his first barber visit (his father had cut his hair before that) and discovers a different part of his heritage.
- “Choc” by Yohan Simpson. A story based on true events. Two children meet in Mumbai, with tragic consequences for both. Trigger warnings for rape, physical and verbal abuse. A grim ending for the book.
The stories that worked best for me were “Capeless City”, “The Death of St. Clare” and “Choc.” “Icky” is probably the weakest story because it is so obviously meant as a first chapter, rather than a story in itself. There’s a few typos, particularly in “Choc.”
This collection is probably of most interest to Philadelphia area readers, but when was the last time you read Uncle Tom’s Cabin fanfic?
