EMPHATICALLY NOT SF, ALMOST

Reviewed by Steven H Silver

When I think of Michael Bishop's writing, I think of his novels Brittle Innings, Ancient of Days, and the Nebula-Award winning No Enemy But Time. However, when news of his death on November 13th arrived one day after his 78th birthday, I reached for his collection Emphatically Not SF, Almost, part of the old Pulphouse Author Monthly series, to read stories which, as the title indicates, are mostly not science fiction or fantasy.

Bishop opens the collection with "Unlikely Friends," in which Jimmy Bevilacqua, a detective, is tasked by his ex-wife to look into the relationship their teenage son has struck up with a septuagenarian. Jimmy's wife, as well as Jimmy, are concerned about Sam Halterman's reasons for befriending their son, but before Jimmy can make any headway, he has to get past his son's defenses and the barriers that have grown up between father and son over the years. Jimmy's initial explanation is that having grown up with an absentee father and a series of step fathers, his son, Paul, was merely looking for a father figure, but Lena doesn't believe Sam's interest is that positive and Jimmy continue to push for a deeper explanation..

"Wished for Belongings" offers a character study of a man who drifts through life, attempting to find a place for himself, but never really finding his niche. Starting from his life in various foster homes and attending different schools while growing up, he is never really able to find an anchor for himself. Despite attending graduate school, he gets a job working in a mill, never really having any close friends. A decision to leave his life behind and migrate to Alaska when another downturn in his fortunes occurs leads him to find a sense of belonging in a most unlikely spot, demonstrating that there may be a place for anyone.

In the middle of the collection, Bishop offers what he calls A Pocketful of Angst: A Mini-Anthology, four unconnected stories which can be read as non-supernatural horror stories, exploring the dark side of humanity.

"Dear Bill" opens the section with a brief look at a man whose friends are concerned about the way he is cutting himself off from his wife, son, and friends. Nothing they can do seems to get through to him until one of his friends decides that sending Bill a letter expressing his concern might be a way around the barriers Bill has set up against receiving any help. The friend's awareness and concerns about Bill's situation are heartfelt and in the end, the brief story is a strong look at how depression impacts a person, even as they may be aware of the impact the depression is having on them.

Immediately after Sex, Gordon admitted to his wife, Tina, that he always thinks of his father during sex in "A Father's Secret." The admission takes Tina by surprise and she asks for an explanation. When it comes, Gordon reveals his horrific secret, made even worse by his belief that it was completely normal, helped him to become a well-adjusted person, and may be something he would continue. Tina's understated response, even when she should be horrified by his admission and the thought that he might allow the situation to proliferate, makes the story even more horrifying.

"Give a Little Whistle" is about a loveless marriage in which George and Lena Caspery appear to be vying for ways to make each other miserable. The wife's endless affairs with her husband's employees are seemingly put to an end when he buys a dog, which she eventually steals from him. Although he apparently had no desire to own the dog, he saw it as another pawn in their battle for supremacy and his wife's enjoyment of the animal only serves to move her into a "winning" position in their relationship. However, while the wife has been shown to be bored, the husband has been shown to be cruel, and the story ends with a conniving twist.

Cruelty also rears is head in "The Egret," a story about long-term guilt. McGruder has always felt guilty after shooting out the eye of a childhood friend during a game that left his friend practically blind, as well as bitter. Into adulthood, the friend, Harry, makes sure to let McGruder know how much his life has been screwed up. Eventually, a day comes when Harry needs McGruder's help when an egret lands in his yard. As McGruder works as a ranger, he can provide Harry with the advice he needs, but McGruder seems to be made of the same cloth as George in the previous story.

The stories that make up A Pocketful of Angst: A Mini-Anthology focus on people who feel the need to express the worst elements of humanity. They are broken people wo have no desire to repair themselves or make connections with the wider world.

Bishop offers a much needed, if sad, respite from the cruelty of the stories in his "mini-anthology" with "Tears," which shows the better side of human nature with a couple who lives across the street from the Sandfords and are well aware of True Sandford's slide into dementia and his wife, Miss Carolyn, and her attempts to take care of her husband. More than just aware of True's situation, the couple attempts to help out as much as they can without forcing themselves on Miss Carolyn and allowing her to retain what dignity she can while dealing with the horrors of a spouse with dementia. While "Tears" is not a feel-good story, it offers a much needed positive view of human nature.

"Patriots" is the story of two American servicemen stationed on Guam during the Vietnam War, Lieutenant Danny Rojas and Sergeant Monegal. Rojas is concerned that he is facing a court martial and fine for his actions in Southeast Asia. The older Monegal convinces him to go for a walk with the hope that Rojas will share his great crime as a form of atonement and will go back to being his normal self. On their walk, the two come across an older Japanese businessman, Jinsai Fujita, and his Guamian girlfriend, Rebecca Facpi. Fujita and Monegal try to jolly Rojas out of his funk when they suddenly come under fire from a Japanese soldier who has been living on Guam since World War II and is not convinced that the war is over, and has been fighting it for longer than Rojas has been alive. Using Fujita to speak to the “Samurai Straggler” in an attempt to convince him that the war is over and he can return to Japan, the group manages to bring him out of hiding, but not before Rojas reveals his terrible secret and gets some closure, although it is not the sort of resolution either he or Monegal have in mind. “Patriots” offers an almost nihilist look at their situation and feels more like a vignette than a story.

The final story in the collection is the one Bishop claimed was almost science fiction. "Taccati's Tomorrow" is set at a science fiction convention in Chattanooga. Told from the point of view of a woman who was dragged to the convention by her partner, who was intent on getting alone time with the author guest of honor, it presents a rather negative view of conventions and fans, with her partner being one of the worst offenders. However, despite his need to meet his favorite author and the author's rebuffs, she is able to find what she considers to be a worthwhile thing of beauty when she meets one of the convention's secondary guests

None of the stories in Emphatically Not SF, Almost can be considered a masterpiece or typical of Bishop's writing. They do show that he was able to write disturbing characters in an unsettling manner. Readers unfamiliar with his work, however, would be better off seeking out his better known and more lauded works.

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