Published today in the Colorado Review is my review of Michael C. Keith’s story collection Stories in the Key of Me. Here is a snippet:
“Carefully crafted tales of the supernatural, thought-provoking introspection, and relentless black humor can be found in this eclectic new collection from American author and professor emeritus at Boston College, Michael C. Keith. Perhaps best known for his memoir, The Next Better Place, and his two dozen books on electronic media, Keith has authored some fifteen story collections. The latest, Stories in the Key of Me, which contains more than one hundred and twenty pieces of prose, with most somewhere between one sentence and one page in length, offers a mix of speculative fiction, memoir, lyric and narrative poetry, and philosophical musings. Although most of the content has been culled from the wide selection of literary magazines that have published Keith’s work over the past decade or so, this newest volume also includes fresh, previously unseen work.
Much like a game of darts, where some darts miss the intended mark, some hit the bull’s-eye, and others miss the board completely, it’s only natural that a fair portion of the many pieces in Stories in the Key of Me either won’t resonate with every reader, or will fail to move, captivate, or linger long in the mind. Pleasingly though, much of this rich and diverse collection of imaginative, humorous, and philosophical thoughts, and strange, spooky, and bewildering tales is sure to move and delight and undoubtedly leave behind a lasting impression.”
