“Mama chose to take her life rather than care for mine.” – from “Pretending”
Born of Dirt and Dust takes an overall darker tone
and is brimming with nonconventional characters and situations that pop from
the page. These twenty-three pieces run the gamut from uncomfortably real to
fantastical. At times, the stories are horrifying in their realism; at other
times, they are downright horrifying.
“Might be a good thing to offload the cemented weight of marital responsibility from his aching back. Might be a better path for his thinning wallet…” -- from “Haul and Demolished”
Coloman has a gift for world building and writing robust characters.
“Cruel Irony” might not be for everyone but in it, the author provides a
completely authentic, descriptive, painful picture we won’t soon forget of the
main character’s duplicity. It’s truly the mark of a talented writer when so
much is revealed in so few pages and with such huge impact.
“My heart felt like the earth and landscape around me. Empty. Dry. Parched and thirsty.” – from “At the End of the Road”
Many of the stories in Born of Dirt and Dust explore
the shared experiences humans grapple with, together or alone: aging and
teenaging, parent-child bonds, new or broken or severed relationships. Several
of the stories drift into science fiction, sometimes unexpectedly, and throughout
the collection, there are unexpected twists that will delight -- or trouble --
the soul. Though every story has some grimness, there is a greatly appreciated
sprinkling of hopefulness (or delicious come-uppances), which helps to counter
the melancholy.
“What footprint is left when nobody knows of my existence?” – from “The Pepper Tree”
My favorite, and the most poignant of the collection, is the
light-but-deep, realistic fantasy, “The Pepper Tree.” (Yes, those are exactly
the right words to describe it.) In it and all the stories, the writing in Born
of Dirt and Dust is outstanding, and Coloman knows how to turn a phrase and
pack a punch with it. Not every story gives readers the answers they seek, and
not all are neatly resolved, but it feels that this is by the author’s design
and only further contributes to the staying power of the collection. Don’t miss
it.
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