We Were Flying to Chicago

Although uneven in quality, the 10 entries in Clouther’s debut collection all display a sure-handed grasp of craft. The first and last stories are the best. In the former, the title story, deft and subtle shifts of perspective among a group of young women lead to a well-earned concluding insight. Better still is the emotionally complex final selection, “Puritan Hotel, Barnstable,” about two brothers, Michael and Connor, dealing with Connor’s cancer treatment. The other stories are a mixed bag. “T-Bone Capone Loves the Lady Ace,” which also centers on the illness of a loved one—in this case, the sister of the narrator’s girlfriend—feels forced. “Isabelle and Colleen,” about a 13-year-old boy, his high-school-age brother, and his brother’s pregnant girlfriend, has some tender, memorable moments. “On The Highway Near Fairfield, Connecticut,” about two cousins on a road trip, looks at fate with a fresh eye. “The Third Prophet of Wyaconda,” concerning a messianic visitor to a small Iowa town, never quite achieves the right tone. Nonetheless, readers should find many of Clouther’s characters, even those in his less successful efforts, lingering in the mind afterward. (May)