Number 69- Shoebox Train Wreck- John Mantooth

 

I've read two Mantooth novels so far and loved both of them. This is my first try at his short fiction, and straight off the bat I'm going to pay this the highest compliment I can give a short story collection by saying it is easily as good as any Ray Bradbury collection I've ever read.

There isn't a single weak story in the collection. It's difficult to choose a standout tale because they are all great stories.

The longest of the stories is only 20 pages, but in each one he manages to build a distinct cast of characters and makes this particular reader at least care about them.

School buses must have been important to Mantooth since three of the stories centre around them. They're very different stories though. Guilt is another common theme in the collection, and the title story in particular is quietly heartbreaking. 

It's difficult to pin this collection to any particular genre.  there are shades of the supernatural, ghosts, crime, occasional science fiction adjacent ideas, and the fantastic.

What they all have in common is that they drag you in from the first sentence and don't let go. If I was forced to pick a favourite, I'd probably go for This Is Where The Road Ends.  The moment I clocked onto where the story was going it felt like my heart dropped out of my chest. 

Or maybe I'd go for Walk The Wheat, which is almost a zombie story about the bonds of love and family. Or maybe Saving Doll, where a young track star is blackmailed by her brother in a most horrific way. Or maybe any of the other stories. James is a beautifully sad story about outsiders. Chicken is about teen rebellion leading to tragedy. 

They're all great. This is just a great book. I'm almost tempted to go back the start and read them all all over again.

If you like your southern gothic to be southern and gothic, and apparently I really do, this is an exemplary example that will be hard to top.