Legerdemainia
Ron Sanders
Reviewed by Jaimie Bell
With another
collection of short stories by Ron Sanders we are treated to satirical
speculative fiction, tragedy, and his own special brand of humor called
anti-correctedness.
The highlights of this anthology are three stories
that make
up The Fartian Chronicles. In them another planet takes over the earth
and
attempts to make humans happy by giving them free money, food, and
housing. But
all they get in return for their good works are complaints and the
Bureau of
Terran Grievances is set up to deal with them. When talk of rebellion
is heard
against the Fartians, it seems doubtful that it is because of any real
desire
for freedom but rather dissatisfaction inherent in those with a high
sense of
entitlement.
Here are brief sketches of the other stories:
The Other Foot: A very funny story about a
mild-mannered man named Gus who has an appointment at a welfare office
but
forgets to sign in once he gets there. This oversight no only throws
the
bureaucratic office into chaos but spells disaster for him.
The Book of Ron: A
retelling of the biblical story from Creation to the death of Abraham.
Here God
is portrayed as dispassionate and creates the cosmos out of boredom and
humans
as a way to amuse Himself. But long before the flood the humor has gone
out of
the project. I was quite impressed with Sander’s knowledge of the Bible
and
really enjoyed his take on Creation.
There were also a couple of keen observations like the one when
God
confronted Adam in the Garden of Eden.“Then, after a quick
grilling by The Lord, Adam narked on
his mate, setting a precedent for all humanity to come. He fingered
Eve, hoping
to save his own skin.”
Elaine: A touching story about a frumpy and mentally
unsound woman who misinterprets a man’s friendliness for attraction,
with
tragic results. Like the short story “Thelma” in The Deep End,
Sanders
peels back the cynicism and exposes raw pain and suffering in a
surprisingly
moving narrative.
The Other Side and A Deeper Cut: Both these
stories deal with the terror of a person who is losing their mind.
Although
Michael in The Other Side suffers from delusions and hallucinations,
and Devon
from A Deeper Cut is diagnosed with narcolepsy, both are under the care
of
doctors who cannot cure their conditions or even understand them. The
contrast
between kind but ineffectual people and what is experienced in the mind
of the
mentally ill is unnerving and quite troubling.
Legerdemainia has similar thematic patterns with other books
I have read by Ron Sanders. He not only is unapologetically
antagonistic
towards triviality and entitlement issues but he exposes flawed systems
that
exist to serve people but remain oblivious to those in real pain and
need.