Love Stories (Sort of)
by Terry Dalrymple
Dalrymple’s fine collection requires a parenthetical explanation in the title because the kids in the stories do not understand the source of puppy love. The adolescents cannot distinguish between love and lust. Dalrymple’s adult characters merely think they understand the nuances of the powerful forces of love and physical attraction, but they are helpless to follow rational behavior when afflicted by lust. These stories are not chivalric romances. They vividly illustrate real people in love, real people like all of us. The characters in this assemblage get by as best they can in often humorous and always poignant ways. Among the characters are:
- an idealistic eleven-year-old with a gift for pencil drawing and a crush on his teacher
- a forty-seven-year-old real estate agent looking for another ego-bolstering bedpost notch
- a beautiful, lonely young woman whose only knowledge of love comes from classical literature and her mother’s dire warnings about nasty things boys seek
These (sort of) love stories will remind us of ourselves and many people we know, perhaps in ways we are reluctant to admit.
Order from any bookstore, local or online. This title is also available from of Galveston, Texas.
About the Author
Terry Dalrymple's books of fiction include Texas 5x5: Twenty-Five Stories by five Texas Writers, Salvation, and Fishing for Trouble. His work has been published in dozens of journals and anthologies. He and his wife Lorraine live in San Angelo, Texas where he teaches literature and writing for Angelo State University.