cover image A Real Man & Other Stories

A Real Man & Other Stories

Shylah Boyd. British American Publishing, $17.95 (152pp) ISBN 978-0-945167-27-3

Boyd's story, ``Clean and Gentle Moments,'' won a PEN award and is one of four short fictions in this fresh, exciting collection, which includes the title novella about an unforgettable woman. Faye Nelson is a writer wandering cross-country, making friends of strangers. In her astringently poetic telling, Boyd ( American Made ) ponders an urgent immediacy as Faye shares confidences with a Cajun woman in Louisiana, or awakens in terror when thugs attack her in a Florida swamp. Staying with her every moment of the long trek, readers will feel Faye's joy when she ends the journey in Colorado with Stan, ``a real man.'' Adding to this mix of dangers and delights, the short stories confirm Boyd's power to depict her characters in a vivid three-dimensionality, with flaws and virtues, people to care about and remember. (June)