SOMETIMES CREEK

Characters mourn bygone days and dread uncertain futures in this debut collection of short stories.

By all accounts, 10-year-old Arthur Penske cost his hockey team the game in this book’s opening tale, “Exile.” Afterward, he gets sage advice about his troubles, including an “a-hole” teammate, from a surprising source—a homeless man who hits the boy with truths he may not want to hear. Like much of the cast, Arthur faces dark times ahead, which in his case include continued misery at home and at school. In other stories, it’s a loss that dims a person’s life. Ned, in the tale “little blind flying mice,” for example, irks locals, as he regularly walks around Noisy Creek, Wisconsin, with LED lights and a line of fluttering bats trailing behind. He’s not trying to upset anyone; these bats, which one day simply started following him, provide solace after he loses his beloved basset hound. Readers should anticipate relentless somberness, as illnesses and death fracture families and joy becomes a thing buried in memories. Sometimes, it’s an overall gloomy tone that fuels the narrative. Sampo Andersen, who likely suffers PTSD, is out for a simple dog walk in “Everyone Is Dead” and wanders into bleak territory, both internally and externally. That’s akin to Philippa “Pip” Peters at a Noisy Creek cafe in “Unresolved,” sitting alone with her “dark moods”—feelings she’s certain won’t leave anytime soon. She’s merely one player in a remarkable cast, a set of believably flawed individuals who, even at their lowest or most despondent moments, remain captivating.

Fox’s hard-hitting stories tackle relatable and topical issues in realistic fashion. The dystopian “Goat Milk,” for example, spotlights a lethal virus devastating North America. As in epidemics throughout history, these fictional citizens face dwindling resources and a perpetual fear of even stepping outside. But not every narrative element is reality-based, such as the talking rodent the size of an 8-year-old child in “Randy Koenig’s Very Large Mouse.” But that quirky story further promotes the book’s themes, as the abnormally big mouse has been just as affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as humans. Animals, usually dogs, play crucial roles in this collection. That’s true for the titular canine in “Orange Tree Dog,” who, according to rumors in a small neighborhood, is anywhere from 40 to 60 years old. She’s undeniably a constant who sticks around as two-legged neighbors invariably change. These tales aren’t entirely daunting, like the occasionally upbeat “I Prefer You in Spanish,” a love story about two college-age Americans who fall for each other in Europe. This couple moreover showcases the author’s vivid characterizations; with parents hailing from Lima, Peru, and Madrid, the two alternate between English and Spanish, sometimes during arguments, while touring Spain. In the same vein, Fox delivers animated prose throughout: “It didn’t take long to reach Orange Tree Dog’s house….I must have looked like a cartoon character, screeching up within a cloud of dust. Orange Tree House Man sat, reclined on his front steps like the last time, all big and bushy and scary and tight-yellow-shirted.” The final offering, the title story of a widower and his young daughter, carries readers to a quiet, unforgettable close.

An astute, confident writer spins grim but entrancing tales.