Wendy J. Fox

I very much enjoyed reading this collection of short stories. Each chapter is about an employee of a company that was described in the first chapter of this book. Each of the stories was unique, but each at some point referred to the company for which the main character of each story worked. I liked that the stories were very different from one another and dealt with different aspects of each character’s life in a way that no two stories were similar. One of the stories I liked most liked was “A Book of Names, A Spreadsheet” because it told about the employees’ office which brought me back to thoughts and memories of my own office days, particularly the office never being the right temperature, and, more sadly, being laid off. I also was fascinated “The Human” with its look into the future as Michael was reunited with his old girlfriend Sabine when both were basically forced to live on the moon! These were beautiful, well written stories about how life went on with each person who lost a job. I was sorry the stories ended, but enjoyed reading about life after unemployment, although that in itself brought me back to some unpleasant memories which popped up as each character thought back on the challenges that came with loss of a job.… (more)

I have no idea how the author ever plotted this book! It is so convoluted and complex. Each chapter is the story of a different person, although the three main characters have repeating chapters. Not only that, but each chapter is told in a different year, with some years reappearing multiple times. No, these years are not in chronological order. Yes, you have to figure out as you read this book how each of the characters is related to one another. This is not an easy task as there are quite a few different characters, and many of them will not be to your liking.

The premise of the book is based on the accidental drowning of Sammy Henderson who falls through the frozen ice of a Colorado lake. He had run fearfully from his girlfriend's house before her dad would find Sammy with his daughter. Sadly, Sammy's 14-year-old girlfriend Irene is left pregnant. The main characters of this novel are three women of two different generations. It seems that they mostly deal with men who disappoint them, Amazingly, the story works out in a well planned way, and all of the loose ends are neatly wrapped up by novel's end.

Kudos to the author not only for writing such a complicated story, but also for engaging me in a novel that is not the kind of fiction I usually read!… (more)

The complications of romantic partnerships are often explored in fiction, but rarely with the depth and insight that Wendy J. Fox brings to her début story collection, The Seven Stages of Anger.

Through several stories, and through the perspectives of multiple characters, Fox suggests that happenstance, circumstance, and inertia—as unromantic as they may be—can play a much larger role in how relationships form, sustain themselves, or die than we may like to think. As for destiny and fate, for the most part, they are the stuff of fairytales.

The perceptiveness and beauty of The Seven Stages of Anger make it well worth a read.… (more)