The Children's Corner review on BookReads.com
[Reprinted from Bookreads.com]
Book review by Lloyd Nolan
Jackson McCrae’s The Children’s Corner recently won the Ellis R. Meredith Award for Short Fiction and is enjoying the same success as his first novel, The Bark of the Dogwood. The first thing that jumps out at the reader of this remarkable and stunning literary achievement is the sheer virtuosity of the writing. This Pulitzer Prize-worthy collection of short stories ranks as highly as some of Pynchon’s works or those of Gabriel Marquez or Flannery O’Connor. In fact, the writing may actually be more concise, superior, fluid, and stunning than anything that has come before. I’ll admit that I was bowled over by the first story, which shares the same title as that of the collection. And, as is usually the case with collections of this sort, the first story is the one to pull you in. Thereafter it’s almost always downhill with only the occasional glimpse of satisfaction, if any. But this is not the case with The Children’s Corner, for each and every story is a well-crafted gem and each is completely different. I was wowed by not only the subject material, which can be humorous and morose, but the style of each piece as well. The first story in the collection deals with an aspiring pianist in a small Mississippi town. The title of this tale comes from a letter that the teenage musician writes to a female concert pianist, telling her of his current aspirations and repertoire, which includes Debussy’s “The Children’s Corner”—a collection of short pieces. And it is these pieces which must have been the jumping-off point for McCrae and what follows in the remaining stories.
Interested in the selections that make up the Debussy, I procured not only a copy of the sheet music, but a recording as well. Each piece in the collection is a small universe in itself, much the same way that each story in the McCrae collection is a small world, complete and satisfying. One wonders if this was a subconscious or conscious development, but for whatever reason it works, and works on many levels. What is also interesting is that each of the Debussy pieces is completely different in scope and style, the same way that McCrae’s stories are all different in style and subject material. One has to marvel at the fact that one of the Debussy pieces is titled “Serenade of the Doll” and one of the McCrae stories, “A Forest of Green,” deals with a doll’s head. Yet another Debussy piece in “Children’s Corner” deals with snow and one has to wonder if the story “Christmas Comes but Once a Year,” has anything to do with this inspiration-wise. It’s not that far a stretch when you consider the intricacies of McCrae’s other writings—his The Bark of the Dogwood with its anagrams, puzzles, hidden meanings, and wit.
But my point is this: In the McCrae Children’s Corner he takes us through a wide range of emotions and colors, just as Debussy does in this miniature music collection. As with all of McCrae’s work, if you read only for the surface story (which is good in itself), then you’re missing three quarters of the work’s better points.
The stories that make up The Children’s Corner are too complex and varied to go into here, but two stand out above all others. “Summer Music,” is probably one of the most perfectly crafted pieces ever to grace the written page, reminiscent of those classic New Yorker stories that you might have read thirty years ago. The narrative deals with a husband and wife coming to terms with pre-arranged infidelity—this, in order to save their marriage. The second story that seemed to be a near-perfect representation of the ills that can manifest themselves within a family is “Early Sunday Morning.” Told in an almost emotionless tone, one wonders exactly what is going on during the beginning pages. It is only when we come to realize that the search through a house on an early Sunday morning is done for the purpose of procuring instruments of torture, that we realize the full impact of this shocking and sad tale. And it’s McCrae’s unswerving and steady hand leading us through the narrative that makes the final discovery all the more unsettling.
One other story should be noted here. It is really more of a novella than part of this collection but serves as the perfect ending to a series of looks at loss and psychological perversity. “Crook,” the last installment in this group, is the story of a nephew visiting his aunt in a nursing home. The obvious symbolism in the name and how it relates to an animal in this narrative is heightened by remembrances and the obvious painful last stages of Alzheimer’s. Truly touching and in the same vein as some of Capote’s works, “Crook” makes for an emotional read that caps off a perfectly marvelous book.
At 176 pages, Jackson McCrae’s The Children’s Corner is a bittersweet compilation of loss, life, love, and insight into the human heart. A truly great collection from a great writer.
Copyright © 2005, BookReads.com, All Rights Reserved