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THE INSOMNIAC TALES
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DLSIJ Press, Oct
2003
Reviewed by Joy
Calderwood
Chick Lit Short Stories "Hell hath no fury like a room full of insomniac women ... especially those in pursuit of chocolate." Fourteen women are isolated at a Women’s Wellness Spa, during a storm and power outage. The narrator is the night clerk or Hostess, who, to get them all through the night, sets up a storytelling contest. The Hostess does sharp little word pictures of the guests for us, so we can see what to expect from each – almost. THE INSOMNIAC TALES is a project worked up for fun by DLSIJ Press. They brought together a group of their own authors, each of whom wrote a story suggested by Geoffrey Chaucer’s 1400 AD classic, THE CANTERBURY TALES. The idea was to parallel Chaucer’s concept, and sometimes the language, but update it. I didn’t find the author list until I reached the end, and I have not read THE CANTERBURY TALES, so I read each story without a clue what to expect. The Knight’s Tale: A determined woman takes eerie vengeance against her prince. The tale of the first vampire. The Reeve’s Tale: A sharp practice businessman is targeted for revenge through his womenfolk. Evil is its own reward. The Cook’s Tale: A piano bar player makes some lousy choices. But which of several cooks is the Cook? The Saylor’s Tale: A wife beset by two gorgeous men finds a way to teach them both a lesson. I knew without doubt who it was written by on the first page, when the beautiful words and phrasing made my head start to float. The Prioress’s Tale: A devout young man takes action against abortion. My description is straightforward, the story isn’t. Written in verse. The Nun’s Priestess’s Tale: The spiritual journey of a lost girl looking for truth. Mostly metaphorical philosophy. The Pardoner’s Tale: Starts with a truly excellent knock-knock joke. Be sure you recognize the tongue-in-cheek Bible-thumping for what it is, because this story is funny. The Wife of Bath’s Tale: Sour recounting of how a downtrodden wife turns the tables. The Wife of Bath has a major grudge against men. The Summoner’s Tale: A seemingly spoiled, clueless woman actually has things well in hand. Enjoyably clever. The only case where the Hostess’ description of the storyteller leaves us thoroughly unprepared for her story. The Clerk’s Tale: The theme of Chaucer’s Clerks’ Tale was unconditional female submissiveness. If I tell you what this insomniac’s tale is about, there will be no surprises left. The Merchant’s Tale: Older businesswoman buys a young husband. The tale is laced with word games that rarely work. This is the way the Merchant would talk, but I found it irritating. The Squires’ Tale: A mother and baby are driven from their planet by war, to make new lives on Earth. The all-too-obvious message of this story is that lesbians can have true love. The Second Nun’s Tale: A passionate young woman is persuaded that her nature is evil. The dilemma is worn-out, but the glowing Second Nun brings it back to life. R rated.I’m not going to differentiate among the authors, who have chosen to sign themselves as the unified "Chaucer’s Women". As in all short story collections, the quality of writing varies. The remaining mystery is, who wrote the Hostess’s viewpoint, upon which all the stories hang? It is entertaining and insightful, a happy juggling of many elements. The purpose of THE INSOMNIAC TALES is light entertainment, with a caprice for the educated. I wanted to pretend to be educated on the subject, so I found on the internet a summary of Chaucer’s stories. How closely have Chaucer’s Women paralleled Chaucer? We have stories like The Reeve’s Tale, whose plot summarizes exactly alike in both Chaucer and INSOMNIAC TALES. We have stories like The Summoner’s Tale, which parallels Chaucer in prologue and story, except that satire turns the message upside down. Then we have others like The Nun’s Priestess’s Tale, whose story has nothing in common with Chaucer but a red feather – at least not that my cheat sheet shows. In spite of Chaucer, each writer seems to be writing a story she personally wants to write. The issues are today’s women’s issues, told with in-jokes and attitude. It ends with a little contest, if you look carefully. Pardon me now, while I go work out the puzzle. September 2003 Review
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