Reviewed by Jennifer Brassel

Reviewer Rating: *** Stars
Title: Alien Fringe
Category: General Fiction-Short Stories
Author: G. LoBuono
Publisher: Mightywords
ISBN: EB00015822
Release date: June 20, 2000

In a series of disparate portraits the author shows us the futility of life for the small individual, no matter the setting. The portraits, diary-like journeys through a day, or perhaps a few weeks, in the lives of the protagonists, illustrate the hopelessness that pervades everyday life.

Throughout the meandering narratives, the author, G LoBuono, makes statements through the mouths of the protagonists about the short-sighted or self-serving effects of US political, economic and social policies, whether enacted in Asia or the US itself. The statements are familiar ones, which have plagued political critics throughout the past thirty or forty years, and because no timeframe is given, it is easy to assume that some of the stories were written decades ago.

Each story or poem attempts, in its own way, to strip away the acceptable, glossy perspective of life and unearth the wounded and festering social sores beneath.

However, the reader is rarely given too much emotional insight which, in turn, does not allow for empathy from the reader for these down-trodden or lost characters. Thus, the reader comes away with that same feeling of futility and impotence that each character portrays. LoBuono uses expressive language in order to paint vivid external pictures of the landscapes surrounding the people who populate his stories, yet the internal imagery often leaves us wanting, although this aspect may be quite intentional – a statement in itself. There is little to aid the reader in forming a physical image of each of the protagonists, perhaps this too is done with intent – i.e. an illustration of the facelessness of the ‘homeless’, for example.

"…the way she’d died inside and then had come back to see the world for what it really was…" A Memory of Small Mercies. p. 78.

The title story is particularly intriguing for those with an interest in extra-terrestrials as it explores the possibility of not only quiet infiltration, but also the policy of denial of the US government. Unlike the other stories, this one ends with a provocative twist that leaves the reader thinking instead of feeling unfulfilled.

Recommended for readers who like to explore social issues.

Copyright © 2000 by  Jennifer Brassel