A Change of Direction

A Change of Direction, the new collection of short stories by Frances Thimann for Mantle Lane Press, shows four characters at a point of change in their lives; changes to do with love, loss and acceptance, delicately described and detailed. Change involves letting go, never a straightforward process, but giving way to other possibilities, and this is the territory explored in these stories. A father comes to terms with the life changing injuries of his soldier son and begins to consider his own future, a woman reviews her recently ended relationship and wonders how to continue, now the reality has set in, the two young gay lovers have to decide whether to face a future they have never discussed and let go of a painful past, a mother who has almost finished grieving for the daughter who never grew up and an old woman who has become a collection of memories. In these stories, Frances Thimann plays artfully with time and memory, and examines the point at which people move on and embark on a different course in their lives. A book of stories to make you think and return to, ponder over and share. Recommended.