(4 / 5)
Note: The following review was originally done for Reedsy and is being reposted here with the permission of the site.
Vestiges by Daniel J. Patinkin includes fifteen short stories that vary widely in settings, themes, and qualities of the lead characters. Most of these stories have interesting plots and relatable characters.
These stories convey a certain feel of adventure mainly by taking the reader through a lot of different places and times. One moment you are in some American metropolis in the twenty-first century; in the next, you are following the life-threatening struggle of a female security guard in Africa; one tale takes you on a bus with a woman going into labor; another on an international flight that is doomed to crash. Patinkin’s eye for variety appears boundless.
The individual storylines also vary along with the backgrounds and situations of the protagonists, and it doesn’t get boring. Friendship, relationships, loss and recovery, survival, and many other topics are depicted in believable human situations. The reader doesn’t slip into feeling being put through repetitions. The dialogues are really good. Patinkin lets his characters speak naturally and befittingly per the situation at hand.
However, there are common threads in themes and characters. In many tales, the characters end up doing something good, selfless, and life-saving. There is a humanistic appeal in many, if not all, of these stories. A bus driver, who has lost a daughter, helps in woman in labor. A bodyguard saves a vulnerable animal. Strangers rush to help an injured hiker, and survivors of an accident help the more seriously injured before tending to their own injuries. These and more such instances create a recurring call to compassion in these tales.
Patinkin has employed present tense in the narration of many of the stories, which is not unheard of though it’s more a staple of screenwriting. In more than one story, he also employs an open ending to the story – a technique that leaves the aftermath to the reader’s imagination. Sometimes it works to enhance the plot and situation, but not always. There is some humor in some stories but for the most part, this work has more pathos to offer than giggles.
Vestiges is for all adult audiences. There is only one story – Bestia – set in ancient Rome, which has somewhat graphic depictions of animal killings. So readers’ discretion advised for those sensitive to the issue. There are also a few typos but they don’t come as imposing in an otherwise error-free volume of interesting stories and impactful characters.