Don't Tell Me What to Do

Starred review from October 9, 2017
Del Bucchia steps away from poetry (Blind Items) with her first book of stories, a confident collection of 15 witty, tightly crafted tales of theft, artisanal doghouses, and funeral crashing. Del Bucchia skillfully approaches characters scattered all over the emotional spectrum. “Nest,” one of the more heartbreaking entries, follows a woman painstakingly constructing a home for a wild bird as her marriage falls apart. In “The Gospel of Kittany,” a 22-year-old former model uses her social media presence to grow her brand as a cult leader. In “A Beautiful Feeling,” a determined office gift giver fails to comprehend personal boundaries and consequences. In “Haul,” a shifting, detached point of view reveals a young woman preoccupied with creating a fashionista persona for YouTube. The title story is the book’s strongest and follows a young woman as she makes off with thousands of dollars in coins stolen from a lover. She goes to the one place she knows she’ll be happy: the gigantic West Edmonton Mall. The story barrels to a satisfying ending that’s neither resolution nor cliffhanger. This is an exhilarating fiction debut.