Remote Feed: Stories

The alcoholic CNN news crew in the title story of this promising but ultimately unmoving debut have reached the far side of cynicism. ""Stuck in the midlife crisis of the seventh drink"" and worn out by a recent stint in Bosnia, one member of the crew sums up the TV news industry: ""You can't believe what you see.... Instead, you turn it into fiction with well-done special effects."" That statement applies equally well to many of the stories in this curiously undeveloped collection. The characters are overeducated, undersatisfied, self-aware; they often act as if they're writing the novel of their lives (and looking to sell the movie rights) more than actually living them. In ""Anaconda Wrap,"" for example, a one-flop-too-many movie producer flees California in his Porsche and heads for Montana, only to find himself living out a farcical, 1990s version of his own private John Wayne myth. Individually, these stories are acerbic and entertaining. As a group, however, they diminish each other, sharing a tendency to end suddenly, unsatisfyingly, just when the characters' lives have begun to matter to the reader. This is the curse of many contemporary short-story collections--an engaging narrative voice taking precedence over a fully developed story arc. Still, given Gilbert's obvious talent, readers can hope that the pieces will start coming together very soon. (Apr.) FYI: Gilbert is completing a novel to be published by Scribner in 1999.