Book 6: Man v. Nature

Man v. Nature

Diane Cook

I don't know what drew me to this collection, but I am so very happy that I found it. From start to finish, Man v. Nature offers an intense, challenging reading experience that routinely floored me with its ideas and impressed me with the raw power with which author Diane Cook conveys them. I usually start with the positive, but there's so much of it in this book that I'll offer a brief negative statement: some of the middle stories- the more realistic ones, perhaps not coincidentally- show less verve than the others. Though "Girl on Girl" is undoubtedly powerful, it was more difficult to follow than many of its more fantastically-minded counterparts, its characters and their interactions as complex and unknowable as real teenage girls are. Likewise, while "Meteorologist Dave Santana" initially shows potential, it is content to merely exist and resolve itself within the typical, boring litfic paradigm that Cook successfully plays with- and expands- throughout the rest of the book. Even so, these stories- and perhaps "Flotsam", "A Wanted Man", and "The Mast Year" from the more fantastically-minded cohort as well- do testify to the depth and range of Cook's talent; their conceits are intriguing, but not as fully developed or explored as those in the other stories. Then again, perhaps they are disappointing because the collection's other entries are so incredibly, relentlessly good.

I knew from the very beginning that I would love this book. Cook has a way of stretching the bounds of reality, writing stories that are remarkably believable despite the surreal element that usually drives their plots. It is somehow easy to imagine the unnamed (but no less terrifying) threat that chases a group of high-powered executive types (the very aptly titled "It's Coming"); the woman whose husbands are progressively well-suited to a terrifying (but, again, largely unseen and unexplained) world that has devolved into pure, violent chaos ("Marrying Up")- and the pitch-black implication of its final sentences; or even the interactions between three buddies who somehow end up stranded on a popular, familiar lake, where their lifelong bonds show signs of previously unacknowledged strain ("Man v. Nature"). The latter story is thoroughly realistic- if one takes it at its word, which upon reflection may not, in fact, provide a proper understanding of it despite its purportedly omniscient narrator- but it is devastating in its consequences, its spool of revelations coming undone at an unnervingly steady pace.

Cook's themes are rarely far from sight, but even when they are blindingly obvious, she strikes with a chilling, deadly aim. Despite its unapologetically heavy-handed use of The Obvious Hammer, I can't recall reading a more evocative, harrowing, and (likely) true metaphor of the paralyzing fear that must possess new mothers than that which forms the backbone of "Somebody's Baby." It is clear from the beginning precisely what Cook aims to do, but her suburban landscape and gossipy neighbors are drawn with such precision that their nonchalance is devastating and effective, borne out by a twist that suggests that mothers- and all parents, really- suffer from a greater fear than the one that is initially explored. The theme is obvious and constant, but the story rings true, proving both that somewhat fantastic elements need not limit a story's litfic-friendly emotional impact and that literary-minded fiction need not be aimless, pedantic, or boring. Cook effectively tells these boundaries to go directly to hell, and her stories show her love for her craft and her keen eye for all of the emotions and interactions that make us human, from the majestic to the mundane.

Man v. Nature's most effective stories are those that most wholeheartedly embrace and revel in the possibilities of science fiction, immediately and almost irrevocably immersing readers in their dystopian settings, carefully revealing contextual information at a pace and level of detail that neither bog down the stories with unnecessary asides nor leave unacquainted readers in the lurch. These short stories are as richly imagined and presented as those in many novels, and though I craved more as I finished "Moving On", "The Way the End of Days Should Be", and "The Not-Needed Forest", they each tell a complete story; it is rather, each story's larger paradigm that I wanted to explore further. Moreover, each leaves off at just the right moment, lingering on a pivotal moment between resolution and the unknowable future before leaving readers and characters alike to ponder what comes after the action. Even when the conclusions seem clear, the collection revels in the kind of uncertainty that defines our lives in mundane and trying times alike.

Cook may approach her genre-tinged fiction with a litfic mind, but in doing so she approaches the short story in a different way, offering a unique perspective that teases out truths about human emotions that can only emerge when we are stretched beyond our breaking points and must confront the uncomfortable, the uncanny, and the inevitable. She throws herself completely into each situation, each locale, each character, and is sometimes as cruel as she is compelling, though neither author nor stories seem to revel in such cruelty. These stories are shocking, heartbreaking, raw, and inescapably human; I expect that they will stick with me for a long time to come. Man v. Nature is a brilliant collection that absolutely hits the mark.

Grade: A