Courtesy of Nicholas DeMarco
★★★★☆
During these turbulent times, a mellow 200-page short story compilation is just what you may need. Rebecca Lee is what some may call a jack-of-all-trades, a talented writer, a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and a yoga instructor. Her talents are evident in her sophomore effort, Bobcat & Other Stories, which brings us seven stories, written in such a down-to-earth tone, that even in the stressful moments, her writing seems to alleviate. Lines from the story “Min” such as “He smiled though, and bowed to us. Min bowed back, and then I bowed, and then Rapti herself bowed to him,” offer a striking contrast, softening the gravity of themes such as endogamous marriage and deporting refugees back to their certain doom.
The result of Lee’s laid-back wordsmithery is a pair of stories, which suffer from the plot getting to the spitting climax, and seemingly going nowhere. This is evident in the epic “Fialta,” which is the longest story in the collection, spanning nearly forty pages, where five students enter an eyebrow-raising acquaintanceship with a famous architect, only to end with some trivial actions by the students. The latter, entitled “Settlers,” is just too lackluster and opaque to draw in the reader.
Most of Bobcat’s stars shine bright, however, Lee’s pièce de résistance is the eccentric “Slatland,” bringing us out of our bodies when deciphering and dissecting troublesome situations and turbulent relationships. On top of that, the protagonist’s significant other, who is Romanian, is tasked with coming up with a scheme to elicit his infidelity. Overall, Lee released an exquisite body of stories, which combined into a magnificent second effort. Having only released two publications since her debut in 2006, she may well be the Fiona Apple of the literary world, but I hope she dips her toes into a new project soon.
