Legends of Glory and Other Stories

Book excerpt: Legends of Glory and Other Stories contains a novella and eight short stories by award-winning author Harry Mark Petrakis. In a departure from his previous, highly regarded work, Petrakis offers a fresh new perspective in the novella, “Legends of Glory.” For the first time Petrakis deals with the traditions and emotions of a small Midwestern town caught in the whirlwind of the Iraq War. In a communal rite of mourning, each character embodies a different voice, a different perspective, in regard to patriotism and pacifism. Although the novella relates to the sacrifice of a young man, the grieving of parents, and the conflicts of a family, it explores human sorrow and anger unchanged from the time of the Trojan War. In a return to his earlier lyrical prose style, Petrakis also treats us to eight beautifully crafted short stories. “Beauty’s Daughter” introduces a sullen-spirited Greek bakery owner and his lovely, more amiable wife. “The Birthday” considers the fear that most people have of the emotional and physical decline that the years bring and the reconciliation with death. In “The Wisdom of Solon,” Solon, who does not realize that life cannot be neatly categorized within the mysterious relationships between men and women, finds that every action sets in motion a series of often bewildering consequences. The question of a proper marriage match and the struggle to make the right choice mark “The Rousing of Mathon Sarlas.” And the longing to believe that something survives our mortal bodies even if reason dictates otherwise is central to “A Dishwasher’s Tale.” Completing the collection are “Christina’s Summer,” “Rites of Passage,” and “A Tale of Color,” which are also presented in an inviting prose style and individualized by engaging characters to provide readers with a cumulative sense of culture, geography, and sensibility.