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Things Happen
In these four stories, things happen.
A mother loses her son to a magic trick gone horribly wrong. Now a Google Maps car is trying to erase the last tangible memory she has of him.
Michelle lands her first big role in Hollywood as a prostitute in a Sam Cooke biopic. But her chance at stardom is jeopardized when riots break out after an innocent black man is murdered by the LAPD.
Everyone in St. Louis knows about the Salazar House of Horrors where a teenage girl was tortured and imprisoned. The prosecution asks Brandon—a model railroad enthusiast—to make a miniature replica of the infamous dungeon. The goal is to persuade the jury to put the monster behind bars forever. But constructing such degradation at 1/12th scale with his wife and two daughters lingering over his shoulder pushes Brandon and his family beyond their limit.
Disgraced journalist Alexander Reynolds is knee-deep in depression. Just about the only thing he can muster these days is slithering to his couch to watch The Maury Povich Show. In a sudden stroke of genius, a path out of his humiliation falls into his lap: he will fake his way to being a guest on Maury. There’s only one problem. He’ll need to convince his wife—the Oscar-winning filmmaker—to play a co-starring role.
The characters here are bruised, battered, and just plain exhausted. They’re like us. And like us, not everything works out for them. It’s this humanity that’s at the heart of this unforgettable collection.
THINGS HAPPEN offers a poignant yet highly entertaining portrayal of people desperately looking for answers in a time when truth and facts are more elusive than ever. The themes of infidelity, unresolved grief, identity, redemption, and racial injustice are woven throughout, lending these short stories a degree of resonance every reader can connect with. And to keep things interesting, a celebrity or two might even make an appearance.
Above all else, THINGS HAPPEN reflects what’s going on in this country right now:
A whole lot of something.
A mother loses her son to a magic trick gone horribly wrong. Now a Google Maps car is trying to erase the last tangible memory she has of him.
Michelle lands her first big role in Hollywood as a prostitute in a Sam Cooke biopic. But her chance at stardom is jeopardized when riots break out after an innocent black man is murdered by the LAPD.
Everyone in St. Louis knows about the Salazar House of Horrors where a teenage girl was tortured and imprisoned. The prosecution asks Brandon—a model railroad enthusiast—to make a miniature replica of the infamous dungeon. The goal is to persuade the jury to put the monster behind bars forever. But constructing such degradation at 1/12th scale with his wife and two daughters lingering over his shoulder pushes Brandon and his family beyond their limit.
Disgraced journalist Alexander Reynolds is knee-deep in depression. Just about the only thing he can muster these days is slithering to his couch to watch The Maury Povich Show. In a sudden stroke of genius, a path out of his humiliation falls into his lap: he will fake his way to being a guest on Maury. There’s only one problem. He’ll need to convince his wife—the Oscar-winning filmmaker—to play a co-starring role.
The characters here are bruised, battered, and just plain exhausted. They’re like us. And like us, not everything works out for them. It’s this humanity that’s at the heart of this unforgettable collection.
THINGS HAPPEN offers a poignant yet highly entertaining portrayal of people desperately looking for answers in a time when truth and facts are more elusive than ever. The themes of infidelity, unresolved grief, identity, redemption, and racial injustice are woven throughout, lending these short stories a degree of resonance every reader can connect with. And to keep things interesting, a celebrity or two might even make an appearance.
Above all else, THINGS HAPPEN reflects what’s going on in this country right now:
A whole lot of something.
275 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 15, 2021
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 27, 2021
My expectation of Things Happen was a collection of short stories but there are only four, averaging around 70 pages each in its paperback format. This gives the reader plenty of time to know the characters and for a story to develop. They are all however in the style of traditional short stories in that each of them focuses on one or two specific issues affecting more or less just the central character.
I am sure that if he had wanted to, Christopher Acker could have extended or merged some of the stories to produce a full length novel but if the story is only 50-80 pages long then why spoil it? As it is we have four good “books” for the price of one.
The author/publisher has given us a comprehensive synopsis of the stories which all follow contemporary issues and like many of us, none of the protagonists are living an ideal life. Generally they are all suffering from 21st Century stresses. Because of the subject matter they are generally rather serious narratives with few light moments.
Of course, with four stories the reader is bound to find some tales better than others. I really felt for the widow Dinah in Now You See Him, Now You Don’t as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her son in his early twenties. My particular favourite was Lady, You Shot Me with its twin settings of a Sam Cooke biopic and an all too familiar US riot following a police killing. Of the four this was the one story that I feel could have been expanded.
The Salazar House of Horrors highlights how violence can impact so many people. I probably found Thank You, Mr Povich, For All You Do the weakest of the four; Alexander’s mental struggles were realistic but some of the storyline was less convincing.
I can definitely recommend Things Happen. It will not make you laugh, it will not give you happy endings but it will make you think about some of the stresses of modern living.
I am sure that if he had wanted to, Christopher Acker could have extended or merged some of the stories to produce a full length novel but if the story is only 50-80 pages long then why spoil it? As it is we have four good “books” for the price of one.
The author/publisher has given us a comprehensive synopsis of the stories which all follow contemporary issues and like many of us, none of the protagonists are living an ideal life. Generally they are all suffering from 21st Century stresses. Because of the subject matter they are generally rather serious narratives with few light moments.
Of course, with four stories the reader is bound to find some tales better than others. I really felt for the widow Dinah in Now You See Him, Now You Don’t as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her son in his early twenties. My particular favourite was Lady, You Shot Me with its twin settings of a Sam Cooke biopic and an all too familiar US riot following a police killing. Of the four this was the one story that I feel could have been expanded.
The Salazar House of Horrors highlights how violence can impact so many people. I probably found Thank You, Mr Povich, For All You Do the weakest of the four; Alexander’s mental struggles were realistic but some of the storyline was less convincing.
I can definitely recommend Things Happen. It will not make you laugh, it will not give you happy endings but it will make you think about some of the stresses of modern living.
July 20, 2022
Review originally published https://amanjareads.com/2022/07/14/th...
Thank you so much to author Christopher Acker for providing me a copy of his book in exchange for this honest review.
Things Happen is a collection of longer form short stories. There are four stories spanning over 360 pages so you can be sure that they're full and well developed plots. I prefer these types of short stories. Many collections contain what could better be described as teasers and snippets but author Acker has given us rich tales.
The book starts with what ended up being my favorite of the bunch, Now You See Him, Now You Don't. This short story is about a young magician who is determined to follow in the footsteps of his hero Houdini. He takes this mission too far and dies during a performance in front of his entire family.
The story follows the magician's mother as she struggles to grieve. Grief is one of my favorite emotions to see depicted in fiction. In my opinion, it is one of the most complicated and individualistic emotions a person can have. This sad short story understands that everyone really does grieve in their own way.
The rest of the stories in Things Happen are Lady, You Shot Me; The Salazar House of Horrors; and Thank You, Mr. Povich, For All That You Do.
Lady, You Shot Me is an interesting take on race culture, particularly as depicted by Hollywood. It is insightful but makes a few odd choices when blending the fictional setting with real life people. It involves an actor playing the real person Sam Cooke, referred to as Sam Cooke, but then masks who is obviously George Floyd with a pseudonym.
The Salazar House of Horrors is about a man who makes miniature dioramas as a somewhat profitable hobby. He is asked to create a gruesome one for a jury trial. This project takes over his life in no small way. It's a creative and original story but doesn't quite land the gut punch ending.
Finally, Thank You, Mr. Povich, For All That You Do involves a disgraced journalist in a fumbling marriage who forms a convoluted strategy to save both his relationship and career. He decides to go "undercover" on the Maury Povich show to reveal some sort of truth about this form of low brow entertainment. Turns out, Maury might just be the good guy after all.
I greatly appreciate the originality of Things Happen. Every one of these stories is unique, bold, and fresh. It is unfortunately rare to read something brand new but Acker has tapped into his creativity and voice to publish a short story collection worthy of any shelf.
I hope to see more from Acker, he's a strong talent that clearly has many ideas to get onto paper. I recommend picking up Things Happen and anything else he might publish in the future.
Thank you so much to author Christopher Acker for providing me a copy of his book in exchange for this honest review.
Things Happen is a collection of longer form short stories. There are four stories spanning over 360 pages so you can be sure that they're full and well developed plots. I prefer these types of short stories. Many collections contain what could better be described as teasers and snippets but author Acker has given us rich tales.
The book starts with what ended up being my favorite of the bunch, Now You See Him, Now You Don't. This short story is about a young magician who is determined to follow in the footsteps of his hero Houdini. He takes this mission too far and dies during a performance in front of his entire family.
The story follows the magician's mother as she struggles to grieve. Grief is one of my favorite emotions to see depicted in fiction. In my opinion, it is one of the most complicated and individualistic emotions a person can have. This sad short story understands that everyone really does grieve in their own way.
The rest of the stories in Things Happen are Lady, You Shot Me; The Salazar House of Horrors; and Thank You, Mr. Povich, For All That You Do.
Lady, You Shot Me is an interesting take on race culture, particularly as depicted by Hollywood. It is insightful but makes a few odd choices when blending the fictional setting with real life people. It involves an actor playing the real person Sam Cooke, referred to as Sam Cooke, but then masks who is obviously George Floyd with a pseudonym.
The Salazar House of Horrors is about a man who makes miniature dioramas as a somewhat profitable hobby. He is asked to create a gruesome one for a jury trial. This project takes over his life in no small way. It's a creative and original story but doesn't quite land the gut punch ending.
Finally, Thank You, Mr. Povich, For All That You Do involves a disgraced journalist in a fumbling marriage who forms a convoluted strategy to save both his relationship and career. He decides to go "undercover" on the Maury Povich show to reveal some sort of truth about this form of low brow entertainment. Turns out, Maury might just be the good guy after all.
I greatly appreciate the originality of Things Happen. Every one of these stories is unique, bold, and fresh. It is unfortunately rare to read something brand new but Acker has tapped into his creativity and voice to publish a short story collection worthy of any shelf.
I hope to see more from Acker, he's a strong talent that clearly has many ideas to get onto paper. I recommend picking up Things Happen and anything else he might publish in the future.
September 7, 2022
Things Happen by Christopher Acker is a collection of short stories. Hmm, maybe a collection of novellas is a better description. The four tales in Things Happen are a bit longer than an average short story, and in Things Happen, well, things happens, some good, some bad, and all of them are quite compelling.
In the opening story, “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t,” the widowed Dinah is dealing with the tragic death of her teenage son due to a magic trick gone horribly wrong. Her husband passed away not too long ago, and now she’s dealing with another devastating death. As Dinah copes with the loss of her son, she wonders if a Google Maps car is erasing his entire memory.
In “Lady, You Shot Me,” Michelle is a struggling actress who’s just gotten a part as a prostitute in a Sam Cooke biopic. Just as she thinks her acting career is about to take off, a black man is killed by a Los Angeles police officer. Michelle gets caught up in the aftermath of protests, riots, and violence. She also gets entangled with her co-star. All of this affects her in various ways.
Brandon makes miniature replicas, and he’s quite successful. And it turns out to be more than a hobby in the story, “The Salazar House of Horrors.” He is commissioned to build a replica of Enrique Salazar’s home where Mr. Salazar allegedly committed many crimes including kidnapping, rape, battery, and murder. The horrors of the Salazar house haunt both Brandon and his family.
The final story is, “Thank You, Mr. Povich, For All You Do.” This story features a journalist named Alexander who has seen better days. Once at the top of his game when it comes to his career, he is now completely disgraced. He spends his days, not writing, but watching TV and grappling with depression. And it doesn’t help his wife is an Oscar-winning documentary film maker. Feeling bitter and betrayed, Alexander concocts a scheme using The Maury Povich Show as a way to expose his wife, and possibly get back at her transgression. Things unfold in a very unusual and entertaining manner.
I liked all the stories. Acker writes characters that are fully-dimensional and relatable. The dialogue is sharp, and the stories keep you guessing until the final paragraphs. My favorite is probably “Lady, You Shot Me.” It had a final twist that was quite bonkers, yet spoke of the craziness of show business.
Things Happen is an excellent collection. I’m looking forward to future stories from Christopher Acker.
Originally published at The Book Self:
https://thebookselfblog.wordpress.com...
In the opening story, “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t,” the widowed Dinah is dealing with the tragic death of her teenage son due to a magic trick gone horribly wrong. Her husband passed away not too long ago, and now she’s dealing with another devastating death. As Dinah copes with the loss of her son, she wonders if a Google Maps car is erasing his entire memory.
In “Lady, You Shot Me,” Michelle is a struggling actress who’s just gotten a part as a prostitute in a Sam Cooke biopic. Just as she thinks her acting career is about to take off, a black man is killed by a Los Angeles police officer. Michelle gets caught up in the aftermath of protests, riots, and violence. She also gets entangled with her co-star. All of this affects her in various ways.
Brandon makes miniature replicas, and he’s quite successful. And it turns out to be more than a hobby in the story, “The Salazar House of Horrors.” He is commissioned to build a replica of Enrique Salazar’s home where Mr. Salazar allegedly committed many crimes including kidnapping, rape, battery, and murder. The horrors of the Salazar house haunt both Brandon and his family.
The final story is, “Thank You, Mr. Povich, For All You Do.” This story features a journalist named Alexander who has seen better days. Once at the top of his game when it comes to his career, he is now completely disgraced. He spends his days, not writing, but watching TV and grappling with depression. And it doesn’t help his wife is an Oscar-winning documentary film maker. Feeling bitter and betrayed, Alexander concocts a scheme using The Maury Povich Show as a way to expose his wife, and possibly get back at her transgression. Things unfold in a very unusual and entertaining manner.
I liked all the stories. Acker writes characters that are fully-dimensional and relatable. The dialogue is sharp, and the stories keep you guessing until the final paragraphs. My favorite is probably “Lady, You Shot Me.” It had a final twist that was quite bonkers, yet spoke of the craziness of show business.
Things Happen is an excellent collection. I’m looking forward to future stories from Christopher Acker.
Originally published at The Book Self:
https://thebookselfblog.wordpress.com...
October 27, 2021
I was given a copy for review. The thoughts an opinions are my own.
First, Christopher Acker spins a good tale. He uses well trodden tropes that play well in contemporary fiction (actress trying to make it big but something unchangeable about her is a hinderance which later turned virtue or down-on-his-luck journalist fights depression). The prose are solid and the stories read well with clever endings. My favorite was the closing line of "Lady, You Shot Me."
On the down side, Acker's stories require a bit of commitment to the start. In the story mentioned above the second paragraph introduces a first person character with "My throat feels like sandpaper." We don't hear from the POV character directly for another three pages, making it difficult to discern her (something we don't find out for another page or two) place in the story.
However, once we learn who she is the story picks up and becomes a delightful read. Certainly contextual in a world where we see riots on TV, question whether the civil rights movement is progressing or failing, and watch groups such as the BLM movement grow. In "Lady, You Shot Me," Ackers gives voice to a population we seldom hear from but know are plentiful in a country where everyone should be equal: mixed race Americans. I appreciated his prose and loved as I said before the ending - a good reminder that even in a personal story that ends well there is still work to do.
My second favorite of the four stories is "The Salazar House of Horrors." It too suffered from the opening pages where the reader has to work a bit to sort through names in the italicized news report verses the characters introduced in the primary narrative. But with a name like "House of Horrors" it is easy to predict the two will meet in pages to come. I loved the incorporation of HO scale buildings and models. It was reminiscent of my childhood experiences... but without the horror. The other two stories are equally good. Overall, I would recomend Acker's work and wish we had more "medium length" fiction. These were a bit more than a traditional short story but less than a novella. It made for a great short read. Pick up a copy and introduce yourself to a solid author writing in our current political-social context.
First, Christopher Acker spins a good tale. He uses well trodden tropes that play well in contemporary fiction (actress trying to make it big but something unchangeable about her is a hinderance which later turned virtue or down-on-his-luck journalist fights depression). The prose are solid and the stories read well with clever endings. My favorite was the closing line of "Lady, You Shot Me."
On the down side, Acker's stories require a bit of commitment to the start. In the story mentioned above the second paragraph introduces a first person character with "My throat feels like sandpaper." We don't hear from the POV character directly for another three pages, making it difficult to discern her (something we don't find out for another page or two) place in the story.
However, once we learn who she is the story picks up and becomes a delightful read. Certainly contextual in a world where we see riots on TV, question whether the civil rights movement is progressing or failing, and watch groups such as the BLM movement grow. In "Lady, You Shot Me," Ackers gives voice to a population we seldom hear from but know are plentiful in a country where everyone should be equal: mixed race Americans. I appreciated his prose and loved as I said before the ending - a good reminder that even in a personal story that ends well there is still work to do.
My second favorite of the four stories is "The Salazar House of Horrors." It too suffered from the opening pages where the reader has to work a bit to sort through names in the italicized news report verses the characters introduced in the primary narrative. But with a name like "House of Horrors" it is easy to predict the two will meet in pages to come. I loved the incorporation of HO scale buildings and models. It was reminiscent of my childhood experiences... but without the horror. The other two stories are equally good. Overall, I would recomend Acker's work and wish we had more "medium length" fiction. These were a bit more than a traditional short story but less than a novella. It made for a great short read. Pick up a copy and introduce yourself to a solid author writing in our current political-social context.
November 2, 2021
The Review
This was such a compelling and engaging read. The author expertly crafted each story to represent an important representation of today’s issues facing our nation, from racial injustice to grief and loss and everything in-between. The characters in each story felt real and gripping as their stories developed over time, and their struggles touched upon so many issues that have always been there but seem to have intensified and become more prevalent in the last couple of years during this pandemic.
What stood out to me was the pacing the author took with each story. With each story being a short story or novella, the reader may have expected the narratives to feel rushed or details to have been missed, but honestly, after reading this collection I felt like the author perfectly elevated the tension and built up the atmosphere in a natural way without sacrificing the theme or characters in any way.
The Verdict
A memorable, thought-provoking, and entertaining read, author Christopher Acker’s “Things Happen” is a remarkable and relatable must-read collection, and the perfect book to pick up this fall. Emotional storytelling, haunting atmosphere, and perfectly built-up tension allowed this collection to shine brightly, and I was truly enthralled with each story’s narrative.
This was such a compelling and engaging read. The author expertly crafted each story to represent an important representation of today’s issues facing our nation, from racial injustice to grief and loss and everything in-between. The characters in each story felt real and gripping as their stories developed over time, and their struggles touched upon so many issues that have always been there but seem to have intensified and become more prevalent in the last couple of years during this pandemic.
What stood out to me was the pacing the author took with each story. With each story being a short story or novella, the reader may have expected the narratives to feel rushed or details to have been missed, but honestly, after reading this collection I felt like the author perfectly elevated the tension and built up the atmosphere in a natural way without sacrificing the theme or characters in any way.
The Verdict
A memorable, thought-provoking, and entertaining read, author Christopher Acker’s “Things Happen” is a remarkable and relatable must-read collection, and the perfect book to pick up this fall. Emotional storytelling, haunting atmosphere, and perfectly built-up tension allowed this collection to shine brightly, and I was truly enthralled with each story’s narrative.
November 20, 2021
With four stories and pushing 80,000 words total each of the stories in this book are long enough to be considered novellas. At that length the author fully develops the characters and the plot. Each of them felt like much more than a short story, but also didn’t have the chance to drag, each one keeping my interest the entire way.
The stories were all great with a plot that was entertaining and thought provoking. Each tale made points, if the reader is open to them, while not over doing it. The characters were well developed and credible. I was especially amazed that an author from New Jersey got things so right in so many subtle ways for a character who grew up in Utah (living in Los Angeles during the story).
If it isn’t obvious yet, I highly recommend this book.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
The stories were all great with a plot that was entertaining and thought provoking. Each tale made points, if the reader is open to them, while not over doing it. The characters were well developed and credible. I was especially amazed that an author from New Jersey got things so right in so many subtle ways for a character who grew up in Utah (living in Los Angeles during the story).
If it isn’t obvious yet, I highly recommend this book.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
February 14, 2022
This collection of short stories was pretty good. Like most books with short stories you get your good ones and your bad ones. But nothing overall amazing. I think that people will enjoy this for the most part though.
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