Book Review: No Turning Back - Stories
No Turning Back: Stories. Dan Burns. Chicago Arts Press, Chicago, IL, April 2014. Hardcover and E-book, 280 pages.
Reviewed by Starza Thompson.
No Turning Back is a collection of short stories that meets the characters of each story at a pivotal place in their lives and then plays out those life-defining moments in spellbinding and unpredictable ways. Dan Burns takes his characters to the brink of the unknown and then pushes them over the edge so that they literally cannot turn back. What results are stories that make the reader question his/her own life and the many life-changing moments that have shaped who the reader is as a person.
In Come Out Wherever You Are, Verne avoids the sudden and most unwelcomed limelight by going off the grid and living in a cabin in the woods. After ten weeks of solitude, Verne gets a feeling that something is off. After ten weeks of solitude, Verne gets a feeling that something is off. He returns to civilization only to find his hometown very different than it was before he left. The decision to leave town, rather than face the sudden publicity, proved to be very beneficial for him and there was no turning back afterward.
At the End of the Day takes a modern spin on the classic story of star-crossed lovers. Jen is twenty years Jeremy’s senior, and while attractive, she is not the obvious choice for a possible mate for Jeremy. However, they both decide to throw caution to the wind and begin a relationship that neither thought was possible.
Adios Amigos is perhaps my favorite story of the book. Al and Margie are visiting Guadalajara, Mexico. Both are the very nightmare of a stereotypical American couple: loud, disrespectful, and fat, though Margie is the lesser of two evils. Al insists upon stopping at a street-side food stand on the way to the airport and sucks on an entire chicken for the duration of the ride. Margie is more cognizant of their (Al’s) rude behavior and tries to make excuses for him, though her patience is drastically waning. Finally, after chasing Al to their gate only to find that their flight has been delayed, Margie leaves Al to sit and sweat, waiting for the plane. What happens next is a complete shock and an utter delight.
There are a few more stories within the collection, each contributing to the overall theme of not turning back. Every story is written with the finesse of an expert. Burn’s exceptional writing abilities should be no surprise since he is the author of breakout novel Recalled to Life, in addition to multiple screen plays and other novels.
One of my favorite things about this book was that Burns allowed the reader into his creative thought process at the end of each story. As a fellow writer, I absolutely loved learning how he came up with his ideas and hungered for more on his process.
While learning Burns’ thought process was an obvious benefit to reading this collection, the best perk was the inherent need to be introspective and reflective about my own life while reading about others who reached a point of “no turning back.” After finishing a story, I would often think about the times where I had a choice to make that ended up defining my life. It takes a special talent to create stories that not only tell a tale, but also enable the readers to deeply reflect on their own life choices.
Overall, No Turning Back is an excellent collection of stories that span genre and subject matter. The theme of not turning back is apparent throughout each story, yet it is subtle enough to not feel forced. This book enables the reader to enjoy each story as it is, and as a collection, all the while thinking about his/her own life and what decisions have been made where s/he cannot turn back. It’s not every day that a book makes you contemplate your life. Dan Burn’s No Turning Back does just that and then some.