Review: Two stories of mothers and children
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 7, 2011
The first of these two short stories by N. Primak is "Victory."  A homeless boy is standing on the street when a woman, somewhere around age 50, walks by, but stops when she sees him. He reminds her of someone,and when she hears that his name is Alex, she stops to talk to him. The next thing that Alex knows is that he is dressed up and going to a very nice restaurant with this lady, and Alex is so hungry since he hasn't eaten in three days.When Alex and this very demanding woman are seated, the woman reprimands Alex for every little thing that she thinks he is not doing correctly, but Alex is starving and only wants food.  The contrast between what she expects of this child from the streets and what Alex wants from her becomes so frustrating that the woman breaks down in tears. From this point on in "Victory" the truth is revealed about this woman from Montreal and the boy named Alex from the streets.  It becomes a testimony for what lengths mothers and children will go for each other.  There is a note of redemption in this story for each of the characters as their walls and boundaries are broken down to each other. It is a very good story."Ignorant" starts with a sense of urgency, and that urgency remains in place throughout the story as Olga hurries on her way through a bad storm for only a few blocks to see her estranged mother.  Olga's father has died, and Olga hasn't seen or spoken to them for quite a long time because her mother disapproved of her choice of a man to marry.  The thoughts going through her head are rushing as she is rushing to get to her mother's house to say how sorry she is, even though she can't tell her father now that it's too late.Olga remembers the comforts of home, even though they are not elaborate or indicative of wealth:  the comfort of the old recliner with stuffing coming out of it, the cat Penny and the soft light of a rusty old lamp, her mother's porch light.  The comforts of home do not have to be pristine.  The rain is coming down as Olga rushes on in the dark, and the an icy chill went through her.  Another icy chill will affect her later on.For such a short story, I think this one is remarkable.  There are so many themes and symbols, and the use of words tie so many of them together.  The title says it all when we think about how little we know about what goes on right in our own little communities.There is a lot to like about this story.