In seven penetrating and vivid stories, Life and Death in Suburbia takes you back to a place and time where much was promised. Beneath the conformity and optimism of the American suburbs of the late 20th Century simmered a clash of generations, of economic classes, of childhood and adulthood. These emotionally resonant and keenly crafted stories will powerfully pull you into the dreams and desperation of the souls who inhabit these places: a nine-year-old struggles with a severe speech impediment, an unbalanced mom and dad in Vietnam; a teen takes a job as a stereo speaker con artist to buy cancer drugs for his father; a lonely artist endeavors to find success and fend off eviction; a spiritual nonconformist tries to find enlightenment in unconventional ways; a group of boys in a brand new subdivision amuse themselves with their imagination and torment two brothers who live in a trailer; a suburban boy with a proper upbringing takes a station wagon trip with his parents and is forever changed by meeting his cousin; a yuppie experiences tension between his upscale suburban life and working class upbringing during an unexpected night of cruising in a muscle car.
With lyrical and insightful prose, Robb Skidmore delivers a vision which will linger in your heart and mind. Life and Death in Suburbia plunges into and exposes the social and cultural constraints within these subdivisions and apartments and reveals their devastating truth.
Skidmore’s first collection blends nostalgia with finely tuned social commentary and existential exploration. These seven vivid stories come together to offer a multifaceted and occasionally melancholic look at ordinary American lives in the 1970s through the 1990s. Although many of the stories do take place in the titular suburbs, they are not reflective of the stereotypically shallow, bland, uniform location that may come to mind. Instead, Skidmore (author of The Pursuit of Cool) explores deep themes of alienation, self-discovery and self-preservation in a complex social and economic landscape.Skidmore demonstrates an impressive degree of versatility in his main characters: a freelance artist struggling against eviction, a yuppie on an errand in the rough part of town, a boy who bullies and a boy who is bullied. Despite their circumstantial differences, Skidmore’s incisive narration unites them in their vulnerability to ruthlessly constrictive social norms and tragedies beyond their control. In “Saunter,” Jim, a quirky yoga practitioner on a spiritual quest, pays a steep price for living outside the conformity of what he calls “The Zone,” while in “Life and Death in the American Suburbs,” Geoff is forced to make a dark choice after his father is diagnosed with cancer and needs expensive medication.
Taken together, the stories offer a critical examination of American culture infused with understated, often dark humor that calls out the absurdities of social norms. Ray Ray, the child protagonist in “Space Food,” is made to dress in formal clothes in the stifling heat to visit an elderly veteran who lives in squalid conditions, and in “Hank’s Place,” Bill has learned to beat his corporate warrior boss at his own game by employing his “elliptical language patterns”: “I’m positive about the target date, but I have concerns.” A nuanced balance between critique and compassion, this collection offers readers an insightful, poignant look at American life.
Takeaway: Gritty, vivid stories exploring identity and the constrictions of social norms.
Comparable Titles: RS Deeren’s Enough to Lose, Jamel Brinkley’s Witness.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
