American Aliens: A Collection of Short Stories, by Patrick J. Power
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American Aliens: A Collection of Short Stories, by Patrick J. Power
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This collection of stories, of America, conveys a raw intensity allied with a keenly observant eye. A narrator, whose work is both powerful and personal, Patrick J. Power is startlingly original. He creates highly visual portrayals of below-the-radar, seldom-documented American immigrant experiences. There is intensity and sometimes darkness in stories that span the seventies, eighties and nineties; stories of life and death; love and loss; sometimes humorous, sometimes bleak and troubled. Two teens acquire an automobile and drive across America without a driving permit. They experience thought-provoking encounters with locals along the road, problems crossing the border into Mexico. There is the humorous and yet sad tale of four friends vain search for whiskey on Christmas Day, the stark portrayal of a man sinking into drug addiction having fallen in with the wrong crowd, the young Polish immigrant enticed into running a marathon of desire, an Irish immigrant who feuds with two Iranian work colleagues over immigration rules and regulations. These are undeniably stories of heartbreak and joy, from the depths of despair to the dizzy heights of life itself. The story of immigration is the story of America itself. These eighteen short stories paint a picture of how American Aliens survive and strive to evade the anxiety of their dilemma on a daily basis. The reader is challenged to think about life on the outside, the struggle of those that do not belong yet conversely keep a country alive.
American Aliens: A Collection of Short Stories, by Patrick J. Power- Amazon Sales Rank: #1734941 in eBooks
- Published on: 2015-05-02
- Released on: 2015-05-02
- Format: Kindle eBook
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Irish folktales on the road By Aaron C. Brown The stories in this collection range from semi-autobiographical to pure folktale--even to shaggy dog story--and it's sometimes hard to tell the difference. There is the spontaneity and energy of On the Road combined with a good-natured willingness to accept magical or near-magical elements unquestioningly. It's first person journalism with a dash of magical realism.As a literary concoction, I wouldn't recommend it in general, but it works beautifully in this one-off collection. You never know where the introspective first-person accounts are going to go, but there is a continuity of character traits among the narrators that keeps the narrative going through the sometimes chaotic and rarely rational plots.Individually, with a few exceptions, the stories are delightful, of four-star quality. But the collection is more than the sum of its parts. The author seems to be telling one cosmic story in multiple overlapping ways, in totally different contexts, over several decades. The experience of being an immigrant is the major motif, and the author has a specific kind of immigrant in mind. The literal immigrants in the stories chose their destinations, they are not wretched refuse of teeming shores, but bored or restless young men (usually) fascinated by the potential for adventure in a promised land. They bring connections with them, usually to relatives both at home and in the new land, but also to a culture (usually Irish) or to institutions (for example, the US Navy). Thus they are tourists in a sense rather than immigrants, they have something to go back to, a family at home, a berth on a ship; and they are not the pioneers in their new land, but part of a later wave.These immigrants often share a romantic notion that they are natural allies of all groups who face discrimination. This occasionally results in some clumsy preaching, but the stories are too grounded and too cheerful to get bogged down in politics. While there is little explicit sexuality, sex in imagination plays a large part in the stories, while sex in practice is unpleasant and scary. In the early stories, the ones that take place in the 1970s, homosexual theme lurk below the surface, but these disappear in the remainder of the book.Overall a wonderful collection of short stories by a first time author.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. 'Please to bring some two ID's with you tonight for purpose of filling out employment form' By Grady Harp Irish born author Patrick J. Power began preparing for a career as a writer by leaving after high school in Ireland and opening his heart and mind to the traveling experience - a decision that has resulted in a modern day troubadour as this richly rewarding book attests. His road trip began in America, and subsequently included living and working in Dublin, New York, Boston, Nuremberg, Chicago, Prague, Bisbee Arizona. He currently lives in Belgium. His employment along the way has included working as a manager of a Jazz club in New York, a teacher in Prague, and various stints as a promoter. He calls this debut publication `a culmination and blend of experiences of travelling and living in the US as an illegal alien during the seventies, eighties and nineties.'Patrick divides his book into three parts - Part I THE BOY 1970s, Part II THE MAN 1980s, and Part III AMERICAN ALIENS. As his summary states, `This collection of stories, of America, conveys a raw intensity allied with a keenly observant eye creating highly visual portrayals of below-the-radar, seldom-documented American immigrant experiences. There is intensity and sometimes darkness in stories that span the seventies, eighties and nineties; stories of life and death; love and loss; sometimes humorous, sometimes bleak and troubled. Two teens acquire an automobile and drive across America without a driving permit. They experience thought-provoking encounters with locals along the road, problems crossing the border into Mexico. There is the humorous and yet sad tale of four friends vain search for whiskey on Christmas Day, the stark portrayal of a man sinking into drug addiction having fallen in with the wrong crowd, the young Polish immigrant enticed into running a marathon of desire, an Irish immigrant who feuds with two Iranian work colleagues over immigration rules and regulations. These are undeniably stories of heartbreak and joy, from the depths of despair to the dizzy heights of life itself. The story of immigration is the story of America itself. These short stories paint a picture of how American Aliens survive and strive to evade the anxiety of their dilemma on a daily basis.'Patrick's Irish roots are ever present in the style of his writing as well as the content of many of the stories - that special zing and does of blarney that shapes the stature of the characters and colors the quality of the coarse conversations. He gives evidence of superficial overtures to deeper philosophies of life, as in the following: `The approaching train was much closer now, making that absurdly huge sound of metal on metal, creating that monstrous shuddering of the ground as if some apocalyptic messenger was arriving to announce the end was nigh; followed closely by the inevitable double hoot, sounding menacing in the sleety cold evening in the middle of which he thought he heard George say goodbye young man as he walked towards the edge of the platform but didn't stop at the edge. He stepped off in front of the express train just as Jack switched off his messages.' And in another story he shares, `In common with the majority of Irish emigrants they shared a common love affair with things Irish in America, and of course playing and then supporting your local GAA club was part 'n parcel of the life. It was the connection which led all the way across the wide Atlantic and allowed each member to touch the weather beaten rocks of the coast of home while attending the games each Sunday of the spring and summer in Gaelic Park. Both men were due to be buried in American graveyards as large as a small county back home. The gatherings would be small enough at the funerals they both knew. It would depend on how long they would hang in there at the finish. The older the emigrant when he or she passed away corresponded to the size of the attendees at his or her funeral.`What makes these short stories sing is Patrick's way with words and songs and tales that speak to the special attempt of miscegenation of immigrants as they adapt to life in a new land. They are superbly written and delicious! And there is a smidgen of Brendan Behan that makes these stories irresistible.Grady Harp, May 15
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Strong collection of stories about the immigrant experience. By Ladybug I agreed to read and write a review for these stories because I was intrigued by author Patrick Power's background. Power lived in the US as an illegal alien for two significant chunks of time in his life, and most of these stories, he says, are based on those times.The stories have interesting premises. Their themes are universal and easy to relate to. Many of the stories are about travel and about the relationships formed while heading off to or exploring new places. A few of the stories are about love and connection--or about wanting love and connection. I was impressed with Power's ability to describe the more vulnerable aspects of love relationships in an honest and tender way.Most of the stories have good flow and move along swiftly. Power communicates his ideas very clearly, so I always knew where he was coming from and where he was going. My one main criticism is that the stories tend to rely too heavily on dialogue. Not only can this get confusing with the back-and-forth, back-and-forth, but this approach kept me from knowing Power's characters on a deeper level.One story was a notable exception: Express Train. I liked how that story was more focused on the inner life of the characters and their interactions with each other. There was more back story, more depth, and more variety in personality, so the story was more interesting to me than others.Overall, this is a strong collection of stories. Good luck to you in the future, Patrick!
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