Revealing Moments

Wayne Scheer

Review by Alyce Wilson

The best flash fiction is fiction distilled. While it does not have time for extensive character development or complicated narrative, it sets a scene, provides insights into a character, and tells a story. In his collection, Revealing Moments, Wayne Scheer distills human experience into compact pieces, blending gentle humor with insight and empathy.

These vignettes are close kindred to the longer stories Scheer has had published in magazines like Wild Violet. Scheer's stories are populated by men and women who know and accept their human limitations, who face life's challenges with reflection and laughter. Whether it is an aging stripping pondering her future or a bed-ridden grandfather remembering his glory days, Scheer imbues his characters with a common desire to make sense of daily life.

As with his longer pieces, that thread makes these portraits compelling, leading the reader not just to imagine what it must be like to be an abused child or a grieving widower, but also to view his or her own experiences anew. Scheer's writing asks us to open our eyes to the world around us, to find meaning in the sometimes tragic, sometimes ludicrous world we all share.

Rating: **** (Must Read)

Thumbscrews Press, 2009.