Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower

The sound of an author reading his own work can change everything. That was the case for my experience with Wells Towers' Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned. I rarely ever buy hadrcover books. In fact, I have a rule about it (debut novels from people who went to my program or Sarah Lawrence where I went to college, Andrea Lee, Jhumpa Lahiri, and ZZ Packer. Everyone else, well paperbacks will do me just fine). I had reads the title story some time during my first year of grad school, it's featured in the Anchor Book of American Short Stories. I absolutely loved it! It was exciting and fresh and most of all risk taking. I've taught it to my students in the past and they've often exclaimed that it was the most interesting thing I gave them all year (so not true). Needless to say, when I saw that Mr. Tower, Wells, if I may was coming out with a collection of short stories I headed right over to the corporate bookstore I (used to?) work for and picked up a copy.

It wasn't what I expected. For a girl who writes pretty straight forward fiction I love to read things that are a little off kilter. I love Ryan Boudinot and George Saunders and Kevin Brockmeier. They write beautifully weird, fun stories just like ER,EB. But the collection I picked up did not resemble the weird worlds I was looking forward to. And that's ok. I mean, we write what we feel, what we see and what we want, no? So after reading two very well crafted stories, I put the book down, it got added to the list of story collection I own and will probably never get through. But then, he came to town and I'm a sucker for a reading. Especially when I'm not head over heels for the book.

Hearing an author read his or her own words aloud sends a little tingle down my spine. In a good way. It gives me a chance to see my craft at work. And, I like that. It also make me feel as though I am somehow closer to the words I'd read or at least, closer to the author of those words. Attending a reading can sometimes make me more interested in the work. This was one of those times. It didn't hurt that he also read a story that I hadn't made it to in the collection. It was by far one of the best readings I've been to in the two plus years that I've been here. It was a lively reading and the story was funny. It strayed away from what my friend called "dick lit" when describing the lone story of Wells' that he read (coincidentally, it was one of the two I'd read myself). It was a story I could appreciate. After the reading, I got my book signed (those are such awkward moments. What do you say besides, I enjoyed the reading"?), said so long to friends, grabbed a slice of mac and cheese pizza (the BEST thing EVER!!) and went home to put on my pj's and crawl into bed with the book I'd just been listening to.

Well, I had the slice, I was in my pj's and tucked into bed. An hour later I was at the local "writer's bar" (yes, we have one and I love it and all its dirtiness) shooting pool with Wells Tower. I love this town so and I will miss it when I'm gone. This would never happen in New York. He was, unsurprisingly kind, funny and inquisitive. I would have thought being on a reading tour and going to a bar only to realize you were at the watering hole of every writer in town would drive a writer batty but, he seemed like he was having a good time. He and his friend put up with my impressively bad pool skills. He asked me what I was working on and we talked a little about fiction. And, the quickest way to win me over? Offer to buy me a drink, and then do it. Done. Done. Done. Did I mention my team mate (his friend) and I won? Maybe we won due to some bad advice given to the opposing team, but hey, it can't always be a moral victory.


But back to the work.

It's interesting to me that almost everyone I've talked to has found some fault with the collection. I've been trying to pin point what it is exactly that isn't grabbing us. Today, I finished reading the story he started at the book shop. What I had liked so much two days ago had disappeared. I've been talking about this with every writer I know who went to the reading/read the book and I think at dinner tonight we came up with an answer to the question. These stories are so well written, I mean, this is a man who knows language and knows how to make it work for his stories. But, just when things are getting to the point when I'm about to start rapidly turning pages and my heartbeat is gaining speed, I read the last line. The risks that were taken in the title story didn't show up in the three that I'd read. But what can you do?

All that said. I think you should go out a get a copy of this book. There are so few well written short stories out there, that when one comes along you need to check it out. I'm still looking forward to finishing this collection, I'm sure it will provide more surprises with regard to language.