Signs and Wonders

April 2, 2012
Ohlin’s (Babylon and Other Stories) second winning short story collection grapples with the trappings of love and loss as the characters in each of its 16 offerings bumble through, stomaching what life has dealt them. Many of the tightly crafted vignettes follow predictable yet nonetheless engrossing plot lines, from adjusting to a divorce while on a cruise in the Galápagos (“The Cruise”), to being jilted by a once-spurned lover years after the initial flirtation (“Who Do You Love?”), to once privileged college students learning the ropes of New York City living as lowly help in arty offices (“The Assistants”). Where Ohlin really shines is in drawing out the unexpected in ordinary situations without stepping too close to the edge. In “Forks,” a doctor helps his girlfriend’s addict brother commit suicide—or so it’s implied. The almost unpalatable circumstances in “Robbing the Cradle”—a happy couple’s inability to conceive—are turned upside down when the wife seduces a teenage boy, intent on becoming pregnant and saving her marriage. The title story finds a wife forced to care for her suddenly comatose husband the night after the two decide to divorce. While not all hit their intended mark, these snippets of life’s upheavals highlight Ohlin’s keen eye for observation. Agent: Amy Williams, McCormick & Williams.

March 15, 2012

This latest collection from Ohlin (Babylon: And Other Stories) features 16 pieces about our connectedness to one another, intentional or not, and about the decisions we make or are made for us, despite our intentions to the contrary. Deceptively simple predicaments are presented. In "The Stepmother's Story," a stepson detests his stepmother, but her hunch is what saves his life; in the title story, an annoying neighbor turns out to be the best friend of the very woman who tried to destroy her. Elsewhere, characters marry and divorce, end some relationships and start others anew. People long for what they think they are missing. Quandaries develop and change unexpectedly--ups that by rights should be downs and vice versa--yet the reader is left hopeful if not necessarily with a happily-ever-after feeling. VERDICT Presented from unusual perspectives in a distinctive, sometimes enchanting voice, each story is filled with paragraphs that are often whimsical short tales in themselves. Readers who enjoy a youthful, fresh approach will find each story a satisfactory adventure.--Joyce J. Townsend, Pittsburg, CA

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2012
These 16 stories, 15 of which were published in literary journals or anthologies, introduce a talented writer of high-quality short fiction. Ohlin writes of people in a variety of crises, such as divorce, unexpected death, breakups, and betrayals. Her characters, male and female, may not always be sympathetic, but they are always believable. They are as diverse as the stories' settings: colleges and cities, both coasts of the U.S., and beyond borders. The skillful use of surprise will induce laughter and shock, often in the same story and at the same moment. In the title story, a long-suffering wife describes how her plans for divorce are interrupted by a serious auto accident. Bruno, the one story original to this collection, has a French mother sending her teenage son to his American father for a surprisingly (at least to the dad) long visit, while Fortune-Teller shows why a young man loses girlfriends by introducing them to his prescient mother. Libraries should buy this book for their short-fiction fans, who will check it out with no regrets to follow.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)