“A scar is what happens when the word is made flesh.” – Leonard Cohen
In this short story we meet Nolan. He’s a landlord, taking in tenants to pay the bills after losing his lover three years ago in a drowning accident. He takes in all kinds of tenants over the course of these three years, teachers, students etc. Watching them come and go as they continue on with their lives, leaving Nolan to live with the ghost of his dead lover.
A new tenant has him interested in life again, and Nolan feel as though he’s ready to move on.
His name is Zeb. He’s mysterious and not sociable at all, but Nolan is intrigued by him.
I love the way Nolan goes about getting to “know” Zeb. Following Zeb when he goes out at night, just to see what his interests are and if he’s meeting a boyfriend. Rifling through Zeb’s underwear drawer, spying on him in the shower. Kinda creepy stalker, but I loved it!
When Zeb finally comes around and tells Nolan his story, it’s heartwarming in the sense that Zeb finally feels comfortable with someone to share his story with. It’s also heartbreaking too, when we hear what Zeb actually thinks about himself because of his scars. It wasn’t full of angst and poor me, it just was.
Even though there were some heavy topics it was balanced with humorous episodes throughout.
I find reviewing short stories difficult because it’s too easy to give away spoilers. But this was such a complete story that it was like a novel wrapped up in 41 pages.
Great things do come in small packages.
Reviewed by: Lynn
You can buy Beneath His Stolen Skin here:
Gotta love the emotional stories with a lot of humor. Cool review!
I think Ms. Lynn rocked this review too. :)