Perhaps Nancy O. Greene’s PORTRAITS IN THE DARK is about what you don’t see in the darkness. Her short vignettes try to shine some light on what we’re quick to dismiss, ignore, or avoid, and her slim collection of short stories provides a wonderful road map to the damaged psyche.
Greene is a writer in bloom. Crisp and vivid – like old black-and-white photographs you find in a drawer you were never meant to look into – each story sets up an interesting scenario, often leaving you with more questions than answers … and wanting more. The only drawback with her stories is that they’re too short. If the fascinating tales in PORTRAITS IN THE DARK are any indication what we can expect, her full-length work will be something to read.
“Fine Print” is about a Faustian bargain between a salesman and a demon, set among the exotic locale of southeast Asia. If you’ve ever traveled, Thailand is the best place in the world to lose your hope or find your salvation, closer to rock-bottom than anywhere on Earth, except maybe Mexico … or Cleveland.
This story isn’t the most original, but the writing is spot-on: “Obsession. There is the clinical definition, and then there is the primordial experience, like a dog burrowing its way into a razor-filled crater, so determined, so driven by a fiery passion that defies all sense and reason, so much so that the painful stings that shoot through its skin like miniature hot needles are ignored, that the ravenous snout is covered in its own blood …”
That’s a beautiful description of unrequited love every young boy experiences at least once in high school. As I said, this tale has been told before, but Greene picks an unusual place to end the story – a technique that is repeated in most of the tales in PORTRAITS IN THE DARK. If she meant to do this, it’s a brilliant idea. I’ve got to presume it was done purposely; the tales are too finely crafted to be by accident.
“The Affair” has the closest to a twist ending. A man suffering from a bad case of agoraphobia suspects his wife of an affair. It awakens jealousy and his invisible friend Christopher. Again, the surprise at the end doesn’t seem designed to shock. Most of the charm of the story is the observations of a life in freefall, as the forsaken narrator reflects upon his mistakes: “I’m becoming unclear of much of the detail of my life, like a crystal ball filling with soot.”
“Descent of Man” and “The Artifact” were the closest of the collection that can be classified as supernatural horror. “Descent of Man” stands tallest, told in a mock 19th-century Gothic style, following a group of Brits traveling to darkest Africa in search of diamonds. Picture Rudyard Kipling’s THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING cribbed by Stephen King and you’ve got the feel. “Darkened Sky” veers sharply the other way – an awkward slice of life of a troubled girl at the cusp of adulthood. Again, Greene hooks you, captivating you into reading every last word.
“A Guy Named Pierce” is about the aforementioned loser, who finally decides to take his life and all its problems in his own hands. The bloody result mixes reality with the fantasies of a sociopath. I had the highest hopes for “Ewuakpe’s War,” very loosely based on an 1897 British expedition. Historical mysteries are always fascinating. It’s merely three pages long, and even if you aren’t familiar with the fate of the Nigerian expedition, she weaves a tight little tale that’s perfect in mood, setting and atmosphere.
Each story sets up an interesting scenario and leaves you wanting more. This begs the lingering question: Which has the most potential for longer exploration? Answer: The wonderful “Down the Rabbit Whole.” The story starts out with a whopper of a tale, sucker-punching you until the final sentence. Narrated by an unstable 16-year-old misfit who’s being interrogated by a shrink over the murder of her mother, the story crackles with wit and attitude. Check out this snarky definition of her sinister Uncle Jerry: “The man looked like something out of a Marvel Comic, chiseled face and all, and he smelled of Old Spice and Subway sandwiches.”
Greene’s PORTRAITS IN THE DARK proves she’s a budding talent. Anything that has me thinking after I read it stays in my library. –Matt Adder
