AVERY #5 (BY) VARIOUS AUTHORS

Published 2010, 185 pages
Characters: B+
Writing: A
Plot(s): B-
Pacing(s): A-
Poignancy: B

Avery caught my eye a couple weeks ago while browsing through literary magazines at a bookstore on St. Mark's Place, and being impressed by the clean, interesting layout design, I decided to give it a blind buy.  Though it's a twice-a-year literary publication, Avery looks and feels like a genuine book of short stories, which is why it bills itself as "an anthology of new fiction."  Unlike most literary magazines, Avery is all short stories — no poems or essays or interviews here, and the only artwork is a series of (very nicely done) watercolor and pencil sketches on the title pages.  I'm often let down by short story compilations, whether by one author or various, but Avery was clearly put together by editors with a consistent vision, and managed to genuinely impress me.

The differences between Avery and other anthologies are probably not all that great — literary fiction usually covers a sadly narrow range of subjects, but collections like the extremely hit-or-miss Best American Short Stories 2009 are so disjointed and imbalanced that even the successful pieces are dragged down by the many flat ones.  Most short stories just don't feel very imaginative or meaningful to me.  Authors tend to rely too heavily on a subdued, ambiguous ending, or they put all their stock in over-written sentences packed with too many analogies, similes and metaphors.  The stories in Avery sometimes suffer slightly from these problems, and in retrospet, none of them are particularly surprising or innovative.  But the writing is fresh, exciting to read, and consistent.  Considering that there are thirteen stories here by thirteen different authors, Avery #5 manages to establish a running tone that never really slumps or feels stale (with maybe one exception).  The editors should be congratulated for their skill at matching these pieces together, as this collection has a distinct personality, even more so than many I've read from a single author, but without the redundancy that most one-author collections face.  The level of writing all around is excellent, and the plotting, while somewhat unadventurous, is nonetheless tight and interesting.

The best of the collection is possibly "The Boy Who Jumped and Lived," by Steve Almond, and as the first story, it gives a good indication of what will follow.  It's neatly plotted with interesting, enjoyable characters, but Almond's voice is what truly carries the piece, as he casually drops fantastic lines without getting bogged down in his own abilities.  Almond's story never feels pretentious or self-important, and though the subject matter is somewhat serious, it manages to be quickly-paced and fun to read.  Other stories in the collection have similar strengths, though perhaps not to the same degree.  "Devices" by Chelsey Johnson is possibly the most experimental story here, and does a good job of pushing the pace of the collection while adding to its originality.  Most others are simply solid, carried by a strong, consistent voice, all working well with their neighboring pieces.  The only story that felt somewhat out of place to me was "Beyond Any Blessing" by Stuart Nadler, in part because of its length, and in part because it felt like a wearingly typical "literary" story, unlike the others here.  It's almost twice as long as anything else in the collection, but never really earns it.  The writing itself is still solid, but lacks spark, and for a relatively long story, I never felt that it went anywhere interesting.

Overall, Avery #5 is certainly one of the stronger short story collections I've come across.  Despite lacking a unifying theme or thesis, the stories are so consistent and well-chosen that each makes a better impression than they would have on their own — the real test of a short story collection, in my opinion.  So, well done, Avery House Press, and all involved.  You've helped to restore my faith in the genre, and I'll be picking up issue six.