RC Gale

Not Safe, But Good takes its title from a phrase in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when the beaver is describing Asland.  Brett Lott also gives the same description to the 13 short stories in Volume II.  Volume II was an encouraging improvement from Volume I.  A few stories were amazing.  Others left me breathless.  I’ll highlight some of my favorites.

• Terry Hare’s “The Flowers Fall” is a childhood story of a young boy protecting a young vulnerable girl from ridicule on the schoolyard and then his eventual failure to protect her again.  It reminded me of Z.Z. Packard’s must-read short story “Brownies” which also deals with children, race, and the disabled.  Hare’s story, however, set up for a knock out punch that wasn’t delivered.
• Kelcey Parker’s “Ithaca” is a post-modern story in a question and answer format.  An orphaned-baby squirrel and a Bible-thumping dying man become best friends.
• Michael Olin Hitt’s “The Laying Out” with its beautiful prose, describes a mother’s reaction to her daughter’s death.
• Janice Daugharty’s “Going to Jackson” we witness the capital punishment of a family’s murderer.  It’s brutally graphic and emotional and not a safe story by any means.

Not Safe, But Good Volume II is a definite must read.  It’s exciting to read stories that are experimental and challenging making it into the Christian mainstream.  Because much of Christian mainstream fiction is watered down and superficial this is a much needed book.