Reckless Disregard and Other Stories by Linda Griffin – The ordinary is full of absences

Common themes are parsed out in their various forms across fifteen stories, with each one displaying its offering in a unique way. Characters modelled after ordinary people contend with the banality of their lives; occasionally, pockets of chaos or unpredictability attach themselves to the monotony, demanding the unwavering attention of the protagonists they have chosen to inconvenience.

Loss, both abstract and material, drives the actions of each story. Sometimes slowly, steadied by the unwavering inevitability of grief, or erratically, manically, as if there is nothing left to lose once the most important thing, the most important person, has already been extricated from the lives of the people living between the pages.

Spoiler-Free Plot

Right people, wrong time, wrong place; a hit and run unravels into a tale of forgiveness, loyalty and responsibility over two decades in the making.

A plea for protection haunts childhood memories.

Long lost family is found in Starbucks.

The time before and the time after is divided by the squeal of breaks.

Our character’s life begins with an ending.

Carrie comes to terms with Gramps’ condition.

Weeds do as they do best.

Complicated and unexpected emotions arise for Zöe as she attends a funeral.

Christopher suffers through the pains of internally imposed self-improvement to prove himself worthy of life’s ultimate prize.

Cat grows a gradual disdain for the Post Office.

All Emma wants to do is fix the house up a little; the tasks resist themselves in various ways.

Murphy grapples with his sense of control while chaos erupts in the background.

A little girl makes a concoction of reality, with soldiers, war, music and family lending themselves as ingredients to her short tale.

A dream within a dream unfurls, leaving behind the name, Arlen Spencer.

My Take on Reckless Disregard and Other Stories

Yes, I am already aware of my use—some would say overuse—of the word ordinary, and all of its various synonyms; this was intentional. A lot of people consider this word to be a pejorative in a world where individuality and novelty are valued. And yet, the majority of us, using whatever metric of distinction, will fall into the “average” category most of the time. When it comes down to it, most of us are simply ordinary people.

The short stories in this book capture just that. Ordinariness. However, this quality is melded together thematically with Loss, more overtly in some stories than in others (a few require some stretching of the imagination to fit this designated theme—if it must!).

The incorporation of regularity allows something that is often overlooked the chance to take centre stage, giving it the audience it deserves, opening up our eyes to its quiet appeal, its necessity in our lives. Combined with the other major theme of Loss underscores its presence in all of our lives.

As we peak, we must also fall, and in those low points in the neverending undulations of existence, if closely observed, loss will most likely be present. The shedding of our great expectations, the death of a loved one, a decline in health, failure, forfeiting ownership over our belongings, and so on. Readers will easily be able to substitute various characters for people they know. To me, that’s a hallmark of successful writing. When the story permeates into real life in spite of its genre or setting, so much so that you cannot tell one apart from the other—well, almost.

I do not think short story collections are given a fair chance. Especially when they aren’t penned by a recognisable name. Reckless Disregard and Other Stories is precisely why readers should make a purposeful effort to include such collections in their consideration lists. You just never know where your next meaningful dose of literature will be derived from.

Loss is defined as the act of losing, the state of being deprived of something, or the harm/disadvantage resulting from it—Linda Griffin gives loss further definition in this book, sculpting it into a full bodied lifeform capable of holding presence both in scripts, and in our own tangible world.

Age Rating

16 years and above

Content Warnings

Alcoholism, Death, Foul Language, Infidelity, Sexual Themes.

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