Book Review

In this highly engaging collection of short stories, award-winning author Robert Garner McBrearty captivates readers with tales of inner struggle and pivotal moments in life. McBrearty, whose acclaimed narratives have appeared in the prestigious Pushcart Prize anthology and have been widely published in literary journals like the North American Review, StoryQuarterly, and the Missouri Review, has previously authored four story collections and a novella titled The Western Lonesome Society. His latest work features fifteen stories, some of which are previously unpublished, presenting a diverse array of characters who find themselves at significant crossroads in their lives.

In contrast to his earlier collections, McBrearty adopts a more reserved and traditional tone in this work, featuring less overt humor and allowing for more ambiguous conclusions. Yet, as always, his intricate narratives remain rich with insight and thoughtful reflection. The alarming yet thrilling opening story, “Cold Night in Waterloo,” introduces Paul, a wayward central character stranded on a freezing road at night who breaks into a farmhouse and finds himself embroiled in a tense standoff with the elderly owner, who is armed with a shotgun. In a surprising twist, Paul discovers that the man’s granddaughter is in the next room, and the story takes an interesting turn as Paul forms a connection with the old man, finding common ground as he helps calm the crying baby. As his problems mount, Paul reflects on his disappointing life and the unsound decisions he’s made, lamenting: “On a better night he’d have had a beer with him and sat on the couch watching television while the old man talked about missing his wife, and he’d talk about missing his parents, and maybe they’d remember some old iron-assed sergeants who’d helped them keep their heads on straight.”

Similarly, “A Morning Swim” delves into the complexities of human connection and the ways in which unexpected circumstances can lead to profound self-reflection. Here, the protagonist’s impulsive actions thrust him into a precarious situation as he faces a terrifying shark while swimming alone in the ocean, an experience that profoundly transforms him: “He wanted to share the way he and the shark had been alone in the water, just the two of them—man, creature—and how close he’d felt to death.” However, his hopeful reflections are quickly overshadowed when he overhears his wife, Jill, flirting with someone on the phone, which compels him to confess his own past infidelity, eventually landing him in hot water.

Time and again, McBrearty spotlights flawed characters grappling with grief, remorse, depression, addiction, stress, and other burdens that life has thrown at them. “Sarge and Hollings” centers on a strong yet introspective soldier navigating the conflicting pressures of military life and personal integrity, exposing deeper uncertainties about his motivations for enlisting. This exploration of internal struggle and the complexities of masculinity emerges as a recurring theme throughout several narratives. In “Convergence,” for instance, a grieving father copes with the loss of his wife while struggling to raise his teenage son, who faces bullying at school. Despite his own grief and feelings of helplessness, he dedicates himself to training his son in boxing, drawing on his limited skills to provide support. Additionally, in the poignant and heartwarming story “Holdouts,” the main character, Ed, confronts haunting memories from his time in the Vietnam War and the loss of his friend Mart, reflecting on his bond with service buddy Dickey while grappling with the burdens of guilt they share—this reflection intertwines with his struggles in present-day relationships, revealing his difficulties with communication and the weight of lingering guilt.

Fantasy and reality blur in the brilliantly wild and elegantly written piece “The Professor’s March.” Set in 1966, Dr. James Robertson, a poet and university professor in Austin, Texas, is a fading light in a rapidly changing world. Despite his discomfort with the evolving landscape of academia, he clings to the solace of his office:

In the world he could be violated, but his office, forever shaded by the oaks, was cool and quiet and peaceful, was his sanctuary . . . though the university was changing, the mood changing, the students growing more sullen, bitter, challenging, the manner of dress scandalous, their hair growing, body odor rising from the unwashed masses—not that the professor minded anarchy so much, when it wasn’t directed at him. Students wanting their papers returned! Their papers read! The director wanting to see a syllabus! It was an outrage, an outrage!

In a melancholic state, Dr. Robertson succumbs to substance use, accepting a tab of LSD from his most promising student, a free-spirited hippie named Rebecca. His longing for transformation, encapsulated in his belief that “Something will happen today; I will change my life,” does materialize, but not in the way he envisioned, leading to unforeseen consequences.

Although some narratives delve into more serious themes, McBrearty skillfully combines subtle humor and empathy, resulting in characters that truly resonate. In the titular story, what appears at first to be an unremarkable account of twenty-two-year-old Dave’s experiences teaching evening classes at a language school in Mexico takes a shocking turn following a traffic accident. Struggling with alcohol and entangled in a tumultuous love triangle with his crude, abusive boss’s beautiful young wife, Sondra, Dave finds his problems spiral out of control when he unwittingly becomes an accessory to murder. “You know the problem you have?” states Jack, his deranged boss. “You’ve got a conscience.” As is the case with many of the protagonists in this collection, regret, self-doubt, and unresolved guilt weigh heavily on the principal characters, shaping their destinies and leading them to confront the moral complexities of their choices.

Subtly amusing, unexpected, varied, and deeply reflective, The Problem You Have is a consistently enjoyable assortment of McBrearty’s most deftly written pieces.