Things That Never Happened

Edelman (Tell Me Like You Done Before) delivers a well-constructed collection of 13 realistic tales laced with modest but expertly deployed speculative elements. It’s this slight touch of the unusual that gives Edelman’s work its charm, as in the collection’s standouts: “The Hunger of Empty Vessels,” about a man contending with the dissolution of his family while being stalked by a mysterious stranger, and “The Scariest Story I Know,” the haunting tale of a father telling his son a bedtime story after the death of the boy’s mother in an accident. Recurring themes include deteriorating marriages; abusive, dying, and unfit mothers; and characters with Alzheimer’s disease. Though Edelman’s examinations of these heavy topics occasionally tends toward the sentimental and overwrought, when he gets them right his talent is undeniable, as in the powerful “That Perilous Stuff,” about a woman who returns home to care for her hoarder mother at the urging of her enabling brother. Edelman’s subtle surrealism and simple prose will keep readers engrossed. (Sept.)