Christopher Ring

In Electricity, author Christopher P. Ring weaves an intriguing collection of five coming of age short stories. In each of the stories, the author draws the reader in with a mixture of wit and humor, as the main characters share a common thread of innocence and idealism in their lives.

The five coming of age short stories include:

God Waking Up For Tea - told in the first person by eleven year old Kevin, an Irish altar boy from Rockville Centre, Long Island, who provides the reader with a show more humorous tale about his Irish heritage and the Irish community in his town, memories of his dead grandfather, and searches for answers about life and death.

Electricity - told in the first person by a fourteen year old boy who witnesses an argument between his parents that turns tragic when his father slices a radio's electric cord and gets electrocuted. The boy wrestles with the meaning and the depth of love, and his overwhelming feeling of shame and guilt for his inability to help his father.

Things Far Away - told in the first person by twenty year old John who along with his friend Fester drop out of college after two years to hit the road on a journey to experience freedom by hitchhiking from Bridgeport, Pennsylvania to meet up with friends in Boulder, Colorado. Their journey will consist of a variety of people (minister, militant vegetarian, salesman) who pick them up along the way, each with a story to tell that will give the young wanderers experiences, and a lesson that to experience true freedom is only through how you deal with the choices that you make along the way.

Family Business - told in the first person by a grandson who talks about making his own way in life after leaving his hometown in Long Island for Afton, Wyoming, and how his grandfather comes to visit him and tries to unsuccessfully entice him to join the family business. He talks about how his grandfather "Pop Pop" had always kept family and business separate, that running his plastic business took precedence, but when his grandfather dies from a heart attack, the grandson realizes too late that his grandfather's visit had actually been an attempt to pass on a gift (message) to him: to make room to embrace family and business.

Everything Simple - told in the third person, this short story follows thirty year old Micah, a sixth grade social studies teacher from Denver, who left the US to live in Huaraz, Peru. Her wanderlust journey to Peru she claims comes from the blood of her dead Peruvian grandmother that runs in her veins. But her journey is wrought with struggles over her misguided idealism and the reality of poverty and danger in Peru.

I found myself easily drawn into each of the characters' intriguing stories, but alas ... as they are only just a snippet of a story, they left me wanting more. I am usually not a fan of short stories, I prefer a full length novel that has a conclusion, but I must say that Electricity did keep me engaged and pondering the author's intended message in each of these coming of age stories.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Pump Up Your Book.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2015/03/electricity-by-christopher-p-r... show less