Wednesday 7 September 2022

CINDY MARABITO - SMALL TEXAS (2021)


Synopsis/blurb….

A book of Southern Gothic short stories of flawed characters caught in sinister situations. A senior older brother calls his sister to pay for his prostitute. A dissatisfied young housewife attends a Total Woman seminar. Twirling class from a tyrannical band director. Just a few of the East Texas hard-living souls erupting from Small Texas, a collection of short stories from the wild mind of Cindy Marabito. Deliverance meets Car Wheels on a Gravel Road with Carson McCullers riding shotgun.

Small Texas is a collection of short stories by author Cindy Marabito. The full table of contents is as follows….

All the Way Home …. a sister, a brother, a prostitute, a financial transaction, a broken familial one

Wolf Creek … family, recipes, memories, history, infidelity

Knox Brothers Employment … the family business, the boss cheating with the secretary, the cuckolded wife having the last word

Third Rate Romance … marital discontent, religion, dreams, an alternative future

As the World Turns … Robert Kennedy gets shot, Granny misses her TV show

Lost in Christ … a funeral

Rose City … family, rumours, loss, remarriage, changes

Total Woman Smothers Husband …. marriage seminar/classes/advise on how to be a good wife in all departments

For the Good Times …. family abuse, a stepfather takes liberties, was I sad he got cancer? No I was not.

A Thousand Dollar Wedding … wedding plans

All That Jazz … dance class

Amelia … band practice and a d*ck of a teacher

Nobody Beach … family unhappiness, to be seventeen

The Tycoon Club … a job interview, a bomb, an explosion, death, no job

L.A. Joan … a hospital deathbed visit, a family reunion, tensions reignited

Nom de Plume …. writing class

Hillbilly Shining … hmm, not sure really

The Best Day Ever … family, mental issues, rape, race and a small town

Most of the stories concern everyday people going about their daily lives and experiencing the same issues that most of us are confronted with from time to time.

Family, death, illness, unhappiness, quashed dreams, thwarted ambition, conflict against a back drop of small town Texas, in the 60s, 70s, 80s most noticeably - with mentions of Kennedy, LBJ, Jonny Cash, Elvis, Steve McQueen, Peckinpah, Kim Novak, Houston, Beaumont, Peanuts and a zillion other things.

I enjoyed the stories mostly. Some more than others. 

Favourites – All the Way Home and Knox Brothers Employment 


4 stars from 5

Read – July, 2022

Published – 2021

Page count – 134

Source – purchased copy

Format - Kindle

2 comments:

  1. This does sound like an interesting collection, Col, and steeped in the culture and setting. I always like it when stories reflect place and culture like that. I think Southern Gothic stories are starting to become more popular, and I wonder if there'll be more of them.

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    Replies
    1. Margot, I was happy to take a punt on this collection and it paid off. I like a short story and I like a US setting and I like trying new authors. 3 for 3, here!

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