“Private Detective Molly” by A.B. Goelman
“Gift of Flight” by Nghi Vo
“29 Union Leaders Can’t Be Wrong” by Genevieve Valentine
“The Leaving Sweater” by Ruth Nestvold
A.B. Goelman’s “Private Detective Molly” is a quirky story proving that one person—or doll, as the case may be—can make a difference, no matter how small you are. Dorothy is a little girl who has become a ward of the state after the death of her mother, and is scheduled for an operation shortly before she is turned over to the custody of her uncle. Social Agent Hanover is an oily character overseeing Dorothy’s case who obviously has more on his agenda than he’s letting on—something that Private Detective Petey, a (female) doll who keeps popping out of Dorothy’s new persona generator (provided courtesy of Hanover) despite Dorothy’s efforts at a Debutante Molly model, wants to figure out.
Petey realizes that she is being used somehow by Agent Hanover, but by the time she figures out the agent’s plan, damage has already been done—especially since she can’t override her own programming. So the miniature detective decides to use every resource she has to set things right, and in doing so gives us a fun and engaging story that manages to be simultaneously lighthearted while casting a light on certain shadows of our own society today.
“Gift of Flight” by Nghi Vo promises to be a beautiful fantasy story with the opening line: “My mother’s wedding dress was the skin of a swan, still blindingly white after more than a decade nestled in tissue paper.” Beautiful in a somewhat dark way, however—Ava, the story’s narrator, begins the tale right about the time that her father starts physically abusing her mother. Occasionally, Ava tries learning about her mother’s past, and if the girl doesn’t ask too many questions, then she occasionally talks about her home in Germany…but nothing altogether specific. It’s an old land, Ava’s mother says, and they’re better off where they are now.
My only problem with “Flight” was that I was waiting for more to happen: questions continue to not be answered, Ava’s father continues beating her mother, and finally young Ava decides to take action on her own. But while the ending doesn’t come as much of a surprise, the hurt and regret Vo writes into it is palpable and sets the conclusion a step apart from a simple “The End.”
“29 Union Leaders Can’t Be Wrong” by Genevieve Valentine tells the story of a man named Stephen who underwent a “full transfer”—that is, Stephen’s mind was placed (one way or another) into the body of someone else who was recently deceased. While his personality remains the same, everything else is thus changed—and the story chronicles how this major upheaval affects not only Stephen but his wife, Marlene, and his partner, Callahan. (And, in an interesting twist, how it can affect the loved ones of the person whose body the “FT” now occupies.) Valentine does a fine job not only with her understated portrayal of how the lives of Stephen and everyone around him changes due to the transfer—no matter how hard anyone tries to fight it—but also that sometimes, survival may not be the preferred option depending on what you have to sacrifice to stay alive.
“The Leaving Sweater” by Ruth Nestvold is, quite simply, about a sweater imbued with magic that allows its owner—Vicky, who hails from the super-remote town of Rolynka, Alaska—to leave a place (or person) when she’s in a bad situation. Eventually she realizes that if she wants to stay anywhere, she has to put aside the sweater—though getting rid of it permanently may not be such a smart idea. “Sweater” runs along a pretty predictable track all the way to the end but is nicely told overall.