The Meddlin' Line A Collection of Short Stories edition by CJ Friend Literature Fiction eBooks
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In the tradition of Flannery O’Connor, here are seven tales that are often spiritual, sometimes dark, sometimes shocking, all probing the depths of the human condition.
Titles include
The Meddlin’ Line - An innocent girl unexpectedly finds herself caught in a brutal conflict.
The Most Important Card in Solitaire - A mysterious stranger confronts a con man on the lam.
Familiar Face - When anonymity and evil collide, terror naturally follows.
Qui Post Annum - Will time dull the impact of an incident that saved a vilified and hated man?
The End of Law - A despairing lawyer confronts the age-old question what is justice?
Fathers as Boys – A touching ode of regret to a man dying of cancer.
Seven Billion Pennies (A Parable) – Beware of seemingly innocuous and worthless things; they can be deadly.
The Meddlin' Line A Collection of Short Stories edition by CJ Friend Literature Fiction eBooks
This collection of short fiction is C.J. Friend's first published work, and I think it was very good for a first-time publication. I am a voracious reader of both short fiction and literary fiction. I've noticed that the Christian fiction industry is plagued by sloppy writing and poor characterization, but fortunately, this book has a refreshingly literary style, featuring strong narrative voice and compelling, believable characters. Having slogged my way through Randy Alcorn and other big industry names, I've longed for more fiction written in the intelligent, sharp tradition of Flannery O'Connor and C.S. Lewis, and I think I've found it here at last. The work as a whole is united around themes of damnation, redemption, and mortality, and the "binding curse of passing moments", as the narrator of "Fathers as Boys" puts it. I'd describe the stories as literary, dark, thoughtful, and spiritual. I'll give you a quick analysis of what I thought of the stories. I'll do my best to avoid spoilers, but if you're already planning to read it, I'd suggest you skip this since it's very easy to give away all the good stuff when you're talking about short fiction!"The Meddlin' Line" - this story is the most "Southern Gothic" of the bunch and reminds me quite a bit of Flannery O'Connor's stuff. It has a nice Jekyll/Hyde theme, and a few great moments of true horror as it builds towards its conclusion. The ending is not spoon-fed to you - it reminds me a lot of O'Connor's stories in that you're left to make up your mind about how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. I appreciate that in a short story since it gives you something to chew on well after the story's over.
"The Most Important Card in Solitaire" - I think the collection really finds its narrative voice starting with this story. The main character spends the story getting increasingly drunker in an attempt to clear his mind, which makes for comic effect as he guesses and second-guesses what's going on with the other people in the bar around him. I felt like the ending was easy to foresee, but I don't think it lessened the buildup at all. It kind of plays into the idea of ever-narrowing choices that eventually leave you with no moves left except the last one you can make.
"Familiar Face" - this one is two parts crime drama and one part supervillain origin story. If you're a fan of shows like "Dexter", you'll probably enjoy this story, which is about the making of a vigilante identity thief who uses his unusual power to destroy people's lives in a very clever way, in order to give them a chance to live more honestly. What I love about this story is the unreliable narrator - he's clearly crazy as all get-out, and only getting crazier, but has a very believable motivation behind his decision-making. I kind of feel bad for the guy, honestly - it's got to be infuriating to be constantly bombarded with reminders of strong human connections that you'll never have.
"Qui Post Annum" - this story picks up where a very famous piece of literature leaves off. Ever wonder what happens to the heroes of a sappy Christmas movie when the miraculous transformation scene is over, they've found the spirit of Christmas, and then the sun rises on December 26th? This story is all about how such a person has to deal with their newfound commitments during the other 364 days of the year, when people aren't so nice and full of seasonal goodwill anymore. The book it's based off of is one of my favorites of the Christmas season, and I appreciated that the author stuck close to the narrative style of the original.
"The End of Law" - It's a toss-up whether this or "Fathers as Boys" is my favorite of the book. "The End of Law" is about a lawyer trying to do his job in a dystopian, anarchic, future USA where government employees live on special compounds to protect them from roving gangs and rioters. The real cleverness of the story is that the final step into anarchy comes within the structure of the courtroom instead of on the streets. Like the story before it, this one touches on the theme of vigilante justice, and asks what exactly justice should do and mean.
"Fathers as Boys" - wow, this one was a tearjerker. It departs from the other stories in that it doesn't seem to drive toward a particular moral or conclusion. It is just a narrator's reflections on mortality and manhood as he spends his last days with his father, who is dying from cancer. I'll be honest - it had me bawling out loud at more than one point. The story really gets across that weird, restless feeling of waiting for someone to die. The person isn't gone yet, but everyone knows it's just a matter of time, so everything has an undercurrent of finality to it, but in practice no one points it out. Like I said before, it was one of the two best stories in the collection, and well worth reading. It's haunted me for days afterward.
"Seven Billion Pennies" - This story is about a jogger's existential crisis concerning the number of people in the world and the suffering we all undergo. It was probably my least favorite in the collection, although I wonder if that's just because it falls after two such heavy stories. There is a really great scene in it where the narrator hallucinates famous philosophers floating around in lawn chairs which cracked me up! Nonetheless, it is a rather lovely parable to get across the "lilies of the field" and "sparrows of the air" theme in Jesus's "Sermon on the Mount" in a contemporary way, and I think it was an uplifting and positive way to end a collection of challenging and dark stories.
Overall, I'd say this ebook was worth picking up for "The End of Law" and "Fathers as Boys" alone, and the other stories are an excellent bonus on top of those. I'm hoping to see more writing from CJ Friend in the future and will watch for him on Amazon. I'm giving the book 5 stars and would definitely recommend it to friends. Definitely give the book a read if you enjoy short fiction!
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The Meddlin' Line A Collection of Short Stories edition by CJ Friend Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
This collection of short fiction is C.J. Friend's first published work, and I think it was very good for a first-time publication. I am a voracious reader of both short fiction and literary fiction. I've noticed that the Christian fiction industry is plagued by sloppy writing and poor characterization, but fortunately, this book has a refreshingly literary style, featuring strong narrative voice and compelling, believable characters. Having slogged my way through Randy Alcorn and other big industry names, I've longed for more fiction written in the intelligent, sharp tradition of Flannery O'Connor and C.S. Lewis, and I think I've found it here at last. The work as a whole is united around themes of damnation, redemption, and mortality, and the "binding curse of passing moments", as the narrator of "Fathers as Boys" puts it. I'd describe the stories as literary, dark, thoughtful, and spiritual. I'll give you a quick analysis of what I thought of the stories. I'll do my best to avoid spoilers, but if you're already planning to read it, I'd suggest you skip this since it's very easy to give away all the good stuff when you're talking about short fiction!
"The Meddlin' Line" - this story is the most "Southern Gothic" of the bunch and reminds me quite a bit of Flannery O'Connor's stuff. It has a nice Jekyll/Hyde theme, and a few great moments of true horror as it builds towards its conclusion. The ending is not spoon-fed to you - it reminds me a lot of O'Connor's stories in that you're left to make up your mind about how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. I appreciate that in a short story since it gives you something to chew on well after the story's over.
"The Most Important Card in Solitaire" - I think the collection really finds its narrative voice starting with this story. The main character spends the story getting increasingly drunker in an attempt to clear his mind, which makes for comic effect as he guesses and second-guesses what's going on with the other people in the bar around him. I felt like the ending was easy to foresee, but I don't think it lessened the buildup at all. It kind of plays into the idea of ever-narrowing choices that eventually leave you with no moves left except the last one you can make.
"Familiar Face" - this one is two parts crime drama and one part supervillain origin story. If you're a fan of shows like "Dexter", you'll probably enjoy this story, which is about the making of a vigilante identity thief who uses his unusual power to destroy people's lives in a very clever way, in order to give them a chance to live more honestly. What I love about this story is the unreliable narrator - he's clearly crazy as all get-out, and only getting crazier, but has a very believable motivation behind his decision-making. I kind of feel bad for the guy, honestly - it's got to be infuriating to be constantly bombarded with reminders of strong human connections that you'll never have.
"Qui Post Annum" - this story picks up where a very famous piece of literature leaves off. Ever wonder what happens to the heroes of a sappy Christmas movie when the miraculous transformation scene is over, they've found the spirit of Christmas, and then the sun rises on December 26th? This story is all about how such a person has to deal with their newfound commitments during the other 364 days of the year, when people aren't so nice and full of seasonal goodwill anymore. The book it's based off of is one of my favorites of the Christmas season, and I appreciated that the author stuck close to the narrative style of the original.
"The End of Law" - It's a toss-up whether this or "Fathers as Boys" is my favorite of the book. "The End of Law" is about a lawyer trying to do his job in a dystopian, anarchic, future USA where government employees live on special compounds to protect them from roving gangs and rioters. The real cleverness of the story is that the final step into anarchy comes within the structure of the courtroom instead of on the streets. Like the story before it, this one touches on the theme of vigilante justice, and asks what exactly justice should do and mean.
"Fathers as Boys" - wow, this one was a tearjerker. It departs from the other stories in that it doesn't seem to drive toward a particular moral or conclusion. It is just a narrator's reflections on mortality and manhood as he spends his last days with his father, who is dying from cancer. I'll be honest - it had me bawling out loud at more than one point. The story really gets across that weird, restless feeling of waiting for someone to die. The person isn't gone yet, but everyone knows it's just a matter of time, so everything has an undercurrent of finality to it, but in practice no one points it out. Like I said before, it was one of the two best stories in the collection, and well worth reading. It's haunted me for days afterward.
"Seven Billion Pennies" - This story is about a jogger's existential crisis concerning the number of people in the world and the suffering we all undergo. It was probably my least favorite in the collection, although I wonder if that's just because it falls after two such heavy stories. There is a really great scene in it where the narrator hallucinates famous philosophers floating around in lawn chairs which cracked me up! Nonetheless, it is a rather lovely parable to get across the "lilies of the field" and "sparrows of the air" theme in Jesus's "Sermon on the Mount" in a contemporary way, and I think it was an uplifting and positive way to end a collection of challenging and dark stories.
Overall, I'd say this ebook was worth picking up for "The End of Law" and "Fathers as Boys" alone, and the other stories are an excellent bonus on top of those. I'm hoping to see more writing from CJ Friend in the future and will watch for him on . I'm giving the book 5 stars and would definitely recommend it to friends. Definitely give the book a read if you enjoy short fiction!
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