Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories

by Nancy Christie

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

A collection of 18 short stories, Traveling Left of Center by Nancy Christie takes you on a journey through the human condition. Christie is a masterful writer fully developing characters in just a few short pages. There is a quote in "Skating on Thin Ice" that summarizes this collection quite nicely.

"I have since learned that thin ice is not only a condition of winter, not confined to stretches of frozen water. There is thin ice everywhere--between lovers and friends, between reality and obsession, between hope and despair."

The quote also probably explains why even though none of the stories in this collection are especially happy; they are not extremely depressing either. Each story was like getting a glimpse into some poor soul's life, almost like a commercial or snapshot, and then stepping away. Each snapshot was fully told and I could move on and I believe the characters moved on, for better or for worse.


My favorite stories in the collection
"Alice in Wonderland": I had a chance to review this story earlier this year. Read my full review.

"The Clock": The poor husband in this story gets his revenge. It reminded me of some of the episodes of The Twilight Zone.

"Exit Row": Oh, the horrors of flying and being stuck with someone you hate! How would you escape?

Overall, I would give Traveling Left of Center by Nancie Christie a thumbs up. While I liked some stories better than others, each story is unique, well-rounded and gives a tantalizing peak into difficulties of the human condition.