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Punishing Ugly Children

by Darryl Joel Berger

Darryl Joel Berger’s debut short story collection is filled with distinctive characters, many pining for luck amidst bad situations and mile-long losing streaks. Whether his characters get what they want is ultimately less important than dramatizing the awkwardness of life in a disconnected world, a theme that resounds evocatively throughout the book. 

The most memorable stories feature characters facing universal dilemmas, which Berger spins in new ways. “Dead Motorcycle Cops,” about boyhood friendship, has a creepy Stand by Me atmosphere, capturing the decay of a post-industrial town through the eyes of vulnerable kids trying to evade the town bully. Utilizing the cadences of childhood speech, Berger crafts a haunting little tale in just a few pages. In “Weight of Ocean,” a misanthropic kid tapes pictures of Winston Churchill to his mirror “to remind himself not to complain” after a traumatic move to the city.

The standout is “Victory Girl,” which explores a young woman’s crumbling identity with grim irony. After being orphaned as a child, Victory moves in with a “severely single” aunt who teaches her how to “clean properly” as a rite of passage. Employing a convincing female perspective, Berger depicts Victory’s obsession with weight loss. The irony of her hellish typist job, where the boss assures her she runs the place while he simultaneously “star[es] at her tits,” is spot on, and the story’s conclusion is startling and powerful.

Berger’s writing can be sharp and funny, especially when describing the discomfort of forced social relations. Though the collection has moments of over-writing that obscure more than they reveal, these serve only to remind the reader where Berger’s finest storytelling lies – in his depictions of people doing the best they can under strange circumstances, often to surprising and compelling ends.

 

Reviewer: Lauren Kirshner

Publisher: Killick Press

DETAILS

Price: $17.95

Page Count: 160 pp

Format: Paper

ISBN: 978-1-89717-465-4

Released: Sept.

Issue Date: 2010-11

Categories: Fiction: Short