dylanperry's review
3.0
Reread: September, 2017
I cannot tell you why I decided to pick this up again, going from rereading Townie to rereading Cage Keeper, from my favorite Dubus work to my least.
When you tell a story, no matter the format, you want it to feel like the character(s) most important story. This has stuck with me in my own writing, and gets to the root of my problem with most of this collection. Five out of seven stories don't feel important. They were disposable tales that had little weight or meaning behind them. Perhaps this seems harsh, and reading it now, it is. But when I've seen Dubus do better, it just feels so damn disappointing to feel utterly disconnected for much of the time I spent with this.
That said, there are highlights. The first two stories are worth the cover price alone (The titular story was my favorite of the bunch). And Dubus' prose is always on point even when the tale feels off center. This man knows how to write a sentence that flows and leaves me in awe. He uses present tense with the quiet ease of a true master; no other working writer I've read has quite matched him. For all this I bump it up to a 3.5 but with the problems I gave before, I cannot give it a higher rating than this.
Original Review
This collection was a mixed bag for me. After loving two of Andre Dubus' books I'm left a bit wanting after finishing this. Of the seven stories I thought two were excellent, two were meh, and skipped three altogether because they didn't hold my attention. The cover is beautiful and I'll proudly display it on my shelves with the rest of my Dubus books, but overall I was disappointed and probably won't read it again.
I cannot tell you why I decided to pick this up again, going from rereading Townie to rereading Cage Keeper, from my favorite Dubus work to my least.
When you tell a story, no matter the format, you want it to feel like the character(s) most important story. This has stuck with me in my own writing, and gets to the root of my problem with most of this collection. Five out of seven stories don't feel important. They were disposable tales that had little weight or meaning behind them. Perhaps this seems harsh, and reading it now, it is. But when I've seen Dubus do better, it just feels so damn disappointing to feel utterly disconnected for much of the time I spent with this.
That said, there are highlights. The first two stories are worth the cover price alone (The titular story was my favorite of the bunch). And Dubus' prose is always on point even when the tale feels off center. This man knows how to write a sentence that flows and leaves me in awe. He uses present tense with the quiet ease of a true master; no other working writer I've read has quite matched him. For all this I bump it up to a 3.5 but with the problems I gave before, I cannot give it a higher rating than this.
Original Review
This collection was a mixed bag for me. After loving two of Andre Dubus' books I'm left a bit wanting after finishing this. Of the seven stories I thought two were excellent, two were meh, and skipped three altogether because they didn't hold my attention. The cover is beautiful and I'll proudly display it on my shelves with the rest of my Dubus books, but overall I was disappointed and probably won't read it again.
canadianbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
This collection of stories focuses on characters living on the margins, many dealing with situations that are challenging. They are not always easy to read, but they feel real.
The story The Cage Keeper's main character is a worker in a halfway house, a job he took on through family connections. When one of the inmates goes off the rails, he finds himself struggling to deal with the situation.
Duckling Girl has two characters that end up connecting, a sad illiterate girl, abused and resigned to her life situation, and a man who takes a step away from his privileged life as he plans a life to help those in difficult situations.
Wolves in the Marsh has a young boy who has a moment of personal growth as he hunts alone in the marsh near his home.
Forky has a man recently released from prison, entering his first relationship since his release and dealing with his issues from his incarceration.
Mountains is the account of a waitress, unhappy in her relationship with an ex-soldier struggling with PTSD, as she looks for an escape from her sadness.
White Trees, Hammer Moon has a man who is about to go to prison taking his two estranged stepchildren on a camping trip as a farewell gesture before he leaves.
Last Dance is the account of a night-time turtle hunt from a man doing this for the first time with an old friend and his mentor.
Dubus's writing is casual and matter of fact, yet somehow brings the emotions to the fore. His reading of the book emphasized this, with his voice just reading on calmly despite the desperation and sadness the words evoked.
The story The Cage Keeper's main character is a worker in a halfway house, a job he took on through family connections. When one of the inmates goes off the rails, he finds himself struggling to deal with the situation.
Duckling Girl has two characters that end up connecting, a sad illiterate girl, abused and resigned to her life situation, and a man who takes a step away from his privileged life as he plans a life to help those in difficult situations.
Wolves in the Marsh has a young boy who has a moment of personal growth as he hunts alone in the marsh near his home.
Forky has a man recently released from prison, entering his first relationship since his release and dealing with his issues from his incarceration.
Mountains is the account of a waitress, unhappy in her relationship with an ex-soldier struggling with PTSD, as she looks for an escape from her sadness.
White Trees, Hammer Moon has a man who is about to go to prison taking his two estranged stepchildren on a camping trip as a farewell gesture before he leaves.
Last Dance is the account of a night-time turtle hunt from a man doing this for the first time with an old friend and his mentor.
Dubus's writing is casual and matter of fact, yet somehow brings the emotions to the fore. His reading of the book emphasized this, with his voice just reading on calmly despite the desperation and sadness the words evoked.
edwarde3ddd's review against another edition
4.0
Dubus III often explores characters from the underbelly of society. This collection has that, but also some of these same characters in a haunting, yet beautiful, natural world. Some of the pieces reminded me of a darker Pam Houston or Ron Carlson. Dubus is one of those authors that is gifted in both the novel and the shorter form, which is rare in my opinion. These stories are not for the feint of heart, but if you appreciate these, you'll appreciate Dubus' other works as well.
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