#26: If I loved you by Robin Black
Available: If I loved you, I would tell you this
Author's site: Robin Black
“Many fiction readers slight the short story as a form less compelling or engaging than the novel. If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This may be the collection that changes their minds.”
- The Australian
I may have to revisit my take on negativity in short stories, or at the very least allow a post's break while I examine If I loved you from Robin Black's debut collection of short fiction.
The Story
A woman imagines a letter to her next door neighbour. He has planned a fence that will wall them in, a fence that means they will have to park further down their driveway to get out of their car. By the time the woman has put pen to paper, it is clear they've tried reasoning with him. It is clear they have appealed to his kinder side. None of this is working.
Instead, she starts with simple enough words so as he might understand:
If I loved you, I would tell you this
. And then, at the risk of diving deeper into an already dark place, she proceeds to tell him.
Why It Sticks
This is a story that benefits greatly from a lack of prior knowledge. What you need to know is that this story kicks like a mule. It surprises again and again, it presents familiar characters in a ludicrous but believable situation and its simple premise hides any number of questions about compassion in a modern, self-motivated society.
Its key strengths come not from blood or gore but from defining moments, ones we have faced or may have to face in life. The character Robin Black creates for our journey is truly unforgettable, a mix of pathos, anger, compassion and sadness.
Not all the stories in the book are as strong as If I loved you, but they all share a willingness to explore the realms of domesticity. This elevates Black above the overly-academic, the deliberately melodramatic and the unacceptably vague authors that plague modern literature. For Black, all that matters is the story itself, and for that we can be ever grateful.
