Precarious: Stories of Love, Sex, and Misunderstanding

Al Riske
Luminis Books (2010)
ISBN 9781935462323
Reviewed by Victoria Gonzalez for Reader Views (02/10)

 

This is a fascinating book. You won’t want to put it down. It is very different and unique. The title is perfect, the characters in each of the stories are balancing precariously on their decisions; one wrong move and they could regret it, then again, they might regret making the right decision too. These stories aren’t offensive in any way, so don’t let the title deter you from reading this wonderful collection of short stories. Instead, these stories are poetic, real, and thoughtful.

My favorite story is “Sleeping with Smiley.” It perfectly captures the feelings teenagers have before they go to college, and the types of relationships that they seek. When one boy has the opportunity to sleep with Smiley, his best friend’s girlfriend, the results are real and stirring.

Some of the longer stories present characters with a lot of depth, and the shorter stories seem to focus more on feelings and your own ideas about the characters. Riske is a skilled writer, and the stories capture your attention and interest as you are reading them, and will hold your attention for long after you are finished reading. You may even want to reread the collection.

The amount of dialogue and description in these stories is perfect. It is as if the conversations are all real and have occurred; some of them are deceptively simple: “The thing is I had no idea what I wanted to say and nothing was coming to me. ‘Lost your tongue?’ she asked. ‘No,’ I said, and pulled her to me. For one second we just stood there, chest to chest. Then she kissed me hard, as if kissing were a way of fighting back.” I highly recommend this extraordinary book to anyone who wants to experience these real and complex stories, and almost make them their own. You will enjoy each page of this book, and hope that there is just one more when you are finished reading. Each of the characters has something to tell you, each of the stories has a different, sometimes wonderful, and sometimes poignant ending. I think that you will really enjoy “Precarious” by Al Riske, I certainly did.

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