River Street: A Novella and Stories

Condon drew on his experiences as a landscaper, firefighter, cabdriver, slaughterhouse worker, office clerk, delivery truck driver and bricklayer to find the inspiration for this novella and short stories. The eponymous novella, a grim story about a drifter driven to murder, is the real gem here, but unfortunately readers will have to wade through the uneven collection to get to it. The stories deal with disenchanted, down-on-their-luck characters, from the grieving son remembering his absent father in ``Starkweather'' and Madeline whose breast surgery serves as a symbol of disappointments of all kinds (``Seven'') to Raymond and Natalie (``The Velvet Shelf''), whose love affair ends the day their puppy is killed by a passing car. In ``The Emptyheart Boy,'' Michael is haunted by his failed marriage and the country place he was forced to abandon. Yet he can't seem to come to terms with his present relationship with Kathryn or his new life in a run-down apartment building, and in his apathy, even the death of an old friend barely moves him. The stories are sad and believable, but they meander to abrupt and imperfect endings as if Condon, having mastered the art of character development, was still bewildered by plots. The reader looking for inspiration or beauty will not find them in this collection, but the characters and their struggles merit a second look. (Dec.)