PositiveThe CommonGary Eldon Peter’s debut short story collection, Oranges, deftly portrays the life of its protagonist, Michael Dolin, as he navigates this trajectory from a childhood in Mason City, Iowa to adulthood in Minneapolis. The linked short-story form frees Peter to quilt together the story of Michael’s life without the constraint of an extended linear timeline ... The strongest moments in Oranges appear quiet at first, then reveal themselves to be the most dramatic ... This is an author who clearly has an intimate yet objective relationship with his characters; he presents them simply. Their relationships are complicated but their lives are not fancy ... Although the book covers some 40 years, from the 1960s to 2000s, it does not feel burdened with historical context or some overarching message about the changing of the times. It is simply a life lived. Reading Oranges, we watch a man grow up and change and stay the same, endure losses and victories of the heart, and we feel more whole ourselves for having read it.
