Book Review: Places I Never Planned by Aimee Bontreger

Catharsis.  If any single word could describe Ms. Bontreger’s inaugural volume of literature, catharsis would be my choice.

There’s something subtly elemental in the way she paints her protagonists.  The amnesia, confusion, and vulnerable rage in Forget Me Not.  The bitter taste of Jean’s self-absorption, suspicion, and vindictive inner dialogue in I Dream of Jeannie.  Endless, unreasonable hope in Over You.  Penny’s lofty viciousness (the revelation of whom was a high note in my reading) and Martin’s self-loathing in Let Sleeping Dogs Lie.

The last piece, Places I Never Planned, is by a large margin the largest piece, weighing in at forty-seven pages.  The extra length was not wasted.  The outrageous, and unenviable, family dynamics are explored at length – much to the distaste of the heroine.  The ending doesn’t feel unexpected, but it’s that feeling of catharsis that impressed me when I had finished it.  With each of the stories, really.

They felt intimate.  Raw.  A vaguely uncomfortable depth of emotion funneled carefully into the stories through the portrayals of the characters and the development of the respective plots.  The endings aren’t always happy, and they don’t always let the reader off easy.  But there’s never the feeling of being cheated.  The endings give you closure and satisfaction, right alongside the wishes that it might have ended on a happier note.

That said, it was not a perfect read.  As engaging as the narrative voices were, a couple of the stories started a bit on the slow side.  You didn’t really get hooked until after the plot started to develop.  A few of the plot devices felt familiar as well, particular the amnesia in Forget Me Not.  To be fair, I greatly enjoyed how the story developed, but it did delay my entrance into the fictional environment.

Not perfect, but an excellent first collection.  Certainly an author to watch.

Amazon Link - Places I Never Planned