The Reservoir

 

 The Reservoir by David Duchovny (2021, 128 pages)

New York City native and early Wall Street retiree Ridley is on quarantine in his high rise Manhattan apartment during the early days of Covid. Fancying himself an artist, he starts a time lapse series overlooking Central Park. It’s been months since he’s had much human interaction. Ridley reviews his time lapse from the previous night, when he notices a blinking light from across the park. Someone is trying to communicate. With him. An opposing high rise from across the reservoir is, what, morse code light blinking? He starts waking up in the middle of the night to blink his lights back. We see just how far Ridley will go for human connection.

Interesting short story that kept me reading, but a smidge confusing. I do like the way it ended! David Duchovny can keep his Spooky nickname. 

⭐⭐⭐ 

A Scout is Brave

A Scout is Brave by Will Lugwigsen, 158 pgs. 

This is a quirky, coming-of-age book about a young, 1960's-era boy scout, Bud, who moves to a strange New England coastal town with his family and stumbles upon a cult of townsfolk who are intent on releasing ancient sea creatures to enslave humanity. 

The story reminds me of other short stories by Bradbury or Stephen King, with a dash of Lovecraft just for good measure--to wit, the name of the seaside town is Innsmouth! 

Bud makes friends with the only other boy in town and they decide to start their own scout troop, but as they start exploring the dark secrets of the area, the residents' nefarious plot rises to the surface and Bud has to figure out a way to save his parents and himself. 

Recitatif

Recitatif by Toni Morrison; introduction by Zadie Smith, 82 pages

Two girls meet and live together for a few months in an orphanage before returning to their families. Over the course of their lives, their paths cross again and again. One of these girls is black, the other is white, though the reader never learns which is which.

Originally published in 1983, Recitatif is Morrison's only short story. But wow, could she pack a punch in that one story, which has such a simple premise that it's profound. It forces the reader to confront our own assumptions, as well as the way in which race plays a part in both society at large and in individual relationships. The story itself accounts for less than half of the page count mentioned above, which is why I noted the lengthy introduction by Smith. If you haven't read Recitatif before, I'd recommend flipping to the back and reading the story first, then checking out the introduction, which provides a deep analysis of the story and Morrison's writing. If you have read the story, proceed normally through the book. Either way, read the story, as it's one that simply cannot be missed. Wow.

How to Talk to Girls at Parties

How to Talk to Girls at Parties by Neil Gaiman, art by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, 64 pages

Enn and Vic are teenage boys on their way to a party when they accidentally stumble into the wrong house. But hey, there's still a party going on, so they may as well stick around and, you know, talk to the girls... even if they're a little...weird. This isn't my favorite Gaiman short story, but I like Moon and Ba's artwork. I don't really have too much to say about this one. It's good enough that it's worth a read, and short enough that you won't feel like you wasted a bunch of time if you read it and don't like it. (And hey, they're making a movie out of it next year, so it might be worth checking out for background, if nothing else.)