20 Short Stories

20 short stories-a compilation of Gracjan Kraszewski’s short fiction-is an excellent and eminently digestible introduction to the author’s work and his ’Catholic postmodernism’ approach, one that aims at presenting the timeless Good, True, and Beautiful but by way of engaging the current culture rather than fleeing from it. Kraszewski has said, many times, ’we cannot just read C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Chesterton, and Flannery O’Connor on repeat until the end of time pretending as if nothing has changed in all the years since they first took up the pen.’ Indeed. Furthermore, perhaps one finds his 900 page novel Thermonuclear Mirth too complex and intimidating. Perhaps you do not know what to make of his Augustinian themed Mark and Anna: Models. Perhaps you just like the short story format, wherein one can attain the satisfaction of a complete story in a few pages. 20 short stories will satisfy the aforementioned three groups and anyone else, especially readers of Catholic work, who find the presentation of ’Catholic art’ often stale, rote, and as if drawn from an assembly line, cookie cutting factory specializing in the catch-all bland. Kraszewski’s work is different and, without question, this book hopes to be but a springboard into, eventually, taking up his longer and more challenging works so as to join him in the pressing work of presenting the ever ancient, ever new truths of the Faith to a much tired world lacking patience for the mass production of books and movies and podcasts who never fail to present their message within the tight confines of conformity.