ALDEK'S BESTIARY

This collection of short stories explores the bonds between humans and animals.

The tales offered here center on a Polish family and are recounted by Aldek, who, at the opening of the book, is a young boy with conflicting feelings about animals. The volume is divided into four sections. The first, “Poland Stories,” provides a glimpse of the narrator’s younger years growing up under Communism. “Paw, A Zakopane Dog” tells of a cunning family pet who steals a steak from the local cardiologist. Meanwhile, in “Oskar Weasel,” the narrator plans to save a weasel from two boys who pit it against a dog for sport. The book’s second part, “Roxy Stories,” finds Aldek living in America, a husband and father who, in “The Adoption,” surreptitiously acquires a dog called Roxy for the family while his wife is away. The third section, “Marta Stories,” focuses on Aldek’s wife; “Mikimoto Pearls” features the narrator searching for a landmark anniversary gift. The final segment, “Philadelphia Stories,” contains assorted animal-related anecdotes, such as “Sojourner Possum,” in which the unwanted marsupial invades the narrator’s vegetable garden during the Covid-19 pandemic. Roman’s stories are generally lighthearted, with the Polish author displaying a wry wit. When gathering book titles to teach his family about dog ownership, Aldek amusingly includes “Old Yeller…The Incredible Journey, even Stephen King’s Cujo—so they could learn the amazing loyalty and ability of dogs, but also know to stay away from rabid Saint Bernards.” The opening tales demonstrate greater depth, capturing family life intertwined with broader sociopolitical commentary: “The ray of sunshine disappeared in two years as the Party disempowered Solidarity and returned Poland to a Communist gloom.” As the volume progresses, the storylines become increasingly bland and the link to animals more tenuous. In “Mikimoto Pearls,” the author tells readers: “An oyster is definitely an animal….You’ll have to settle for an oyster.” But in “God’s Revelation to Jan the Human,” a laborious story about a contractor with a gambling problem fixing a leaking pipe, Roman concedes: “I am including one human animal in this bestiary.” Despite some humorous moments, this collection veers disappointingly off course as it struggles to hold the audience’s attention.

Intriguing and quirky, if sometimes underwhelming, tales.