The smartest thing about Texas literature is that as a Texan I can always imagine myself in the story. I can see the landscape, hear the Texan drawl, and taste the local foods. I don’t read many fiction books, but when I do they are almost always certain to take place in Texas or be written by a Texan author. There’s something about this great state that makes me proud to be her citizen and proud to promote most of what comes out of this fine land. Jeremy Mark Lane’s collection of short stories, While I’m Still Myself, is a prime example of one of those literary works of art that beautifully tells the stories of what it’s like to be Texan.
For just a minute, imagine the following description of a small West Texas town as described in the opening paragraph of The Pebblestone Five:
“Somewhere along the Texas Panhadle sits a town like most others in that part of the country. A few buildings–mostly boarded up–sit scattered, seemingly by happenstance, among a decaying post office, a filthy, roach-filled corner store, and houses with missing shingles and grass reaching the bottom of the windows. The town’s name, though not worth mentioning, is of interest only due from its being derived from a stray dog that, as history tells it, would meander back and forth between the porch of the local watering hole (now nothing more than a rotten frame without roof or walls) and the town post office (not in vastly better condition, but inhabited by a toothless drunkard of a postman known by the name Booger).”
While I’m Still Myself beautifully transcribes these purely Texan descriptions. How many times as we’ve driven through Texas have we seen a town that might just be the town and the people Mr. Lane is writing about? There’s also those more serious matters and shameful parts of history that are found therein such as in the fictional short story, Souls in the Wind:
“Under the tree were two horses, both riders dismounted, and a third man, who looked to be on his knees. Briscoe set his whiskey on the window ledge…pulled his horse from the first pen and mounted with no saddle…A black man, no doubt the one of his knees before, was now standing with his hands tied behind his back. Briscoe approached and spotted the white of a noose around his neck. “Mornin’ Mr. Briscoe,” said one of the other men. He knew the voice right away. It was Hank Aldridge, the over zealous young sheriff of Wichita Falls.”
No doubt that as you read the short stories contained in While I’m Still Myself by Jeremy Mark Lane you are going to be left feeling captivated, mesmerized, happy, thoughtful, and angry throughout its pages. Mr. Lane has a way of evoking the deepest feelings from the reader, making them come face to face with their self. Mostly you’ll want to read more from this very gifted author. As one reviewer wrote, “Charming and rich with emotion that makes me ponder on pieces of our existence that are often overlooked,” or as Jeremy Mark Lane puts it in the words of his character Ceely, “Oh to fly away…This very minute. While I’m still myself and can be something to someone.”
While I’m Still Myself can be purchased at Amazon for the low price of just $10.99.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my review.
