The Joy of Deception and Other Stories

by Gretchen Johnson

Gretchen Johnson presents characters you will care about and remember. Among them are a widow reluctantly starting a new life, a young woman who basks in the thrill of unhealthy decisions and runs from the monotony of security, a sex offender who flees town after he is discovered, a slushie machine repairman who knows his work is as important as that of any doctor, and many other people whose flaws, fine points and idiosyncracies will grab your attention and keep you turning pages.

174 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Sasha]

I’ll admit that I’m not the kind of person who goes out of their way to read short stories. I like my stories to be long, in-depth, and involved, with lots of page-turning and plot twists. However, after reading The Joy of Deception , I may have to re-evaluate my opinion on short stories. Joy of Deception presented the short story format in a way that kept my interest and remembering the stories long after I finished reading them.

At a scant 162 pages, this book nonetheless manages to capture the scope and depth of what each character goes through in deftly woven tales that, for the most part, leave the reader satisfied despite their brevity. Ms. Johnson manages to craft complex, dynamic characters that you actually care about, despite only knowing them for a dozen pages or so—a remarkable feat for any writer, needless to say. These characters are us , the everyday folk who go through life wanting to break free from the monotony of it all. There’s an almost voyeuristic thrill at being able to glance at so intimate a portion of each character’s life. The short story format is so difficult to maneuver, and Ms. Johnson does so with skill, creating dialogues and memorable characters that grab your attention from the very first lines of their portion.

While there were a few stories in there that I didn’t feel had enough of a plot to warrant writing about, for the most part each story flowed smoothly and went along at a fast clip, keeping me on my toes from one story to the next. I loved how Ms. Johnson managed to make each story seem so real —like I was reading an interview or watching it play out right before my eyes—from the man caught in a loveless, slightly abuse marriage to the woman who enjoys lying to her lover almost as much as she enjoys lying to herself.

Each story in The Joy of Deception is captivating in its own right. Some will make you laugh, some will make you gasp, and some will just make you think hard about your own life and the people around you. The characters are so real they live and breathe before you, and despite the shortness of each section, Ms. Johnson packs significance into each line, creating a book that truly is a joy to read.

A copy of this book was provided for review by the author.
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For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!

[Christine]

Since each short story is so creative and the characters are so fascinating, this book was impossible to put down. Johnson gives the reader a good amount of stories in this book so there should definitely be something for everyone to enjoy. The stories themselves range from three to a little over thirty pages so you get a mixture of long and short tales. While the stories are centered around life in a small town, every problem the various characters face is universal no matter where you live. I loved how completely different each story was and none of them ever felt like she put any less effort into it then the previous story. There is always some interesting twist or revelation at the end. But what really makes this book are her characters. There are some of the most annoying but fascinating characters in this collection, including one who can't stop himself from lying. In the short stories where you had characters like him, you didn't want the story to end once you hit that last page.

Overall this book was great from start to finish. The only thing I did notice was that some stories were not as interesting to me because of their subject and it brought down the reading experience for me. One, for example, was about a food eating contest which just doesn't interest me in the least. Since I knew these stories had interesting endings and that once I was finished I could move on to a completely new story in the next chapter, I found myself rushing through the current story just to be done with it. And even after finding out the ending of those stories, I found them to be the least interesting compared to the rest.

However, this book is a quick read that anyone could easily finish in one sitting. It's funny and lighthearted, and I was really impressed with the quality of stories in this book, especially considering how many Johnson has written. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for something to change-up their usual choices for reading. The simple entertainment that comes from so many different stories is sure to give you the motivation and inspiration to jump into whatever you plan on conquering next.

*I received a free copy of this book for this review from the author.

[Sandra Lopez]

What a great collection of stories—well-written with a dialogue so refreshing and captivating. They are filled with characters that live each insipid day in sorrow, loneliness, and desperation. You can’t help but feel in good company with them.

We start things off with a funny and relatable story in “The Beauty of Silence” when a man goes on a date with a woman who won’t stop talking. I absolutely loved how the author depicted marriage in a true-to-life setting that enveloped the characters to the mere point of drainage and suffocation. I was totally on board with Daphne in “Unpacked Suitcase” when she said, “He moved in 3 weeks later, and we shared my one bedroom apartment blissfully happy for about a month and a half before his annoying habits started to create my misery.” (pg. 127) So FUNNY and TRUE! I couldn’t help feeling high praise for Daphne when she openly admitted that she was living with a man she hated and hated herself for putting up with it. And for what!?

It’s safe to say that I truly enjoyed most of the stories. The entire book is a compelling read from start to finish. In “The Joy of Deception,” a woman gets a taste of her own medicine when she flees the security of a healthy, loving relationship—proof that karma always comes back to bite you in the ass. In “Main Street Grind,” a girl finally quits on her horrible boss—how good that must’ve felt. All in all, I loved how these characters find simple joy in an overwhelming, grueling, and hazardous life—that’s how it is! Like for me, joy is finding peace and quiet at the conclusion of a hectic day while leaning back with a good book in my hands. Like this one!