Castle Creek
by Russell Coats

On the outskirts of metro Atlanta, the residents of Castle Creek subdivision, a racially and socioeconomically diverse neighborhood of mostly split-level ranches on wooded half-acre lots, appear to go about their business in mundane fashion. Inevitably, however, they find themselves ensnared in unpleasant and even dangerous situations, their troubles brought on by their own good intentions. A woman decides to feed an apparently homeless dog. A man reaches out to his neighbors, complimenting them on their Christmas decorations. A family erects, to help build the confidence of an insecure daughter, a high school graduation banner at the entrance of the subdivision. It is the agency of the protagonists that drives the action. And yet, for all their intentionality, and regardless of their altruistic motives, the situations they create take on a life of their own, spiraling beyond their control, imperiling their health, welfare, and very lives.

Although the novel poses as a collection of standalone narratives, the stories are for the most part interdependent, sharing common themes, characters, and even plot lines. The challenge for the reader is to solve, with the benefit of tell-tale clues and markers, how the stories are related to one another. In this sense the book is like a puzzle, the chapters interlocking to form novella-length wholes. In addition to its innovative structure, Castle Creek features vivid and complex character studies, lyrical meditations on the wages of love and marriage, dark offbeat humor, and propulsive psychological twists. While best categorized as literary fiction, it does stray occasionally into the speculative, as when a retired preschool teacher imagines that her suburban backyard is haunted by wraiths.

5 out of 5 fairies

This was an interesting collection of stories, and really highlights that although we may think our lives are quite insulated for others, often, they may have more impact than we realize. I appreciated the included map, if like me, you struggle to visualize how things are laid out, you’ll find it quite useful when diving in. That said, the stories all take place in this single subdivision, and while they each focus mainly on different families or one or two at a time, it’s interesting to see how the stories occasionally ripple into each other. How the actions of one or two people can spill over and change the lives of another family, who aren’t the focal point of the story. Overall, I enjoyed the blend of literary fiction style prose with speculative fiction vibes.

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