The Whore's Child- Russo (Book #11)

I love Russo's books. This is a short story collection and I loved it just as I love Lahiri's short stories in "Interpreter of Maladies". He has a way with insight and introspection and character development that makes each character come alive and real to us as they must be in his mind's eye. This is my third Russo book and I'm beginning to see a lot of patterns in his novels and stories. In fact, in this collection, one story is almost identical to a longer novel of his that I recently read, "Straight Man". Because of the themes and patterns I saw recurring I felt that not only was I learning stories by a writer, but I was learning a bit of Russo the man and the life that he lives, the past that seems to seep into his words. The thing I love most about Russo's writing is that he writes about the truth of our world and he even faces us to certain horrors inherent in our lives, yet somehow we leave his stories thoughtful, perhaps inspired, but never fully desolate as such stories may inherently suggest. Beautifully written.