Turnback Creek; a novella & six stories
Lonnie Busch
“Part ghost story, part love story, all with the bite of loss, grief, and redemption.”—Jubal Tiner, author of The Waterhouse, a James Jones First Novel Fellowship Finalist, and editor of Pisgah Review. Turnback Creek, winner of the Clay Reynolds Novella Prize— During the day, retired heavy equipment operator Cole Emerson cooks, cleans, and tries to keep his dying sister Elsie comfortable, but at night he escapes into the dark solitude of Hardman Lake to fish for bass and clear his head, until one evening in Turnback Creek, when he spies a haunting teenage girl who awakens in him a young man’s desires and old buried memories. The Marind-Anim— Clyde Buxton is in rehab trying to gather up the lost parts of himself when he wakes one night to find a mysterious yet entertaining young woman at the foot of his bed. A Happy Boy— After a rash of miscarriages, Jessica Garren hopes to dissipate her slowly deadening despair by adopting an oddly jubilant ten-year-old boy. The Call of Tin— During a short day-hike, Marsha witnesses a frightening creature that transforms her life, but her husband only heard it, and becomes fixated on trying to figure out what it was, hoping to shake his wife back to normalcy. Chaos Chaos— All the men in the Crane clan die before age fifty, but Mallory wants to spare her older brother Nolan the family curse, while struggling to get her own tilt-a-whirl life under control. One Night In Liberty— Convinced that his best friend had an affair with his wife, Arthur confronts Po, but Po isn’t forthcoming, bound by a curious pledge of secrecy. Clewison’s Wake— Obsessed with discovering how a fellow fisherman at the lodge is catching so many big trophies, Benny decides to follow Clewison one night, and ends up lost, his only guide back a peculiar light floating against the seamless black banks of Wambli Lake.
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I would like to thank the author, Lonnie Busch, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Turnback Creek was a real trip through Lonnie's imagination, filled with subtle, thought-provoking and creative horror. Thought about so many other great references while reading it!
I had this remote sensation that all the stories seemed to take place in the same spot, perhaps in parallel timelines or realities. And it was honestly really fun to imagine all these characters coexisting in the same universe. Among these stories I'd like to emphasize some of my favorites, being: Turnback Creek, A Happy Boy, and The Call of Tin. These are the ones that marked me the most in this reading process, and I would love to share the points that delighted me the most in those three.
I fell in love with the main title's plentiful descriptions and ambiance. I'm one of those readers who has some difficulty conceiving poorly explained scenarios, and in Turnback Creek's case, the setting was so delved into and well constructed that I could imagine every little detail of those scenes. I had some conflicted feelings for the protagonists (which honestly only enriched the plot) all the time; I wanted to protect them from some horrible situations, but I still felt discordant a lot regarding their actions, thoughts, and feelings. It created a unique tension and kept me very interested in the storyline until the end.
A Happy Boy, on the other hand, left me emotionally stirred. It's incredibly sensitive in the discussion about motherhood, lack of stability, mourning, and constant loss. I've felt equally empty, sharing some of the protagonist's worst feelings (and I'm not even a mother yet). I expected a more intense plot twist at the end, but my expectations were not frustrated at all.
Finally, The Call of Tin reminded me of all the feelings I had listening to a Brazilian dramatized series, an adaptation of a Reddit creepypasta, “Search and rescue woods”. The references to Latin/South American folklore caught me off guard and positively surprised me; even when I'm aware that it is a known creature in some US states, it was still really encouraging to see an author taking some interest in our magic beasts. Not sure if I understood the whole premise, but I guarantee I had a lot of fun with this one.
Once again, an enjoyable work by the author, fun to read, and an excellent entertaining moment. I hope that you, reading this review right now, decide to give Lonnie a chance with a genuine, open heart. He's a very sweet, talented and kind author who works very hard to put this wonderful work out there into the world.
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