My foray into short story compilations has been pretty limited, but I can still tell you that Separate Kingdoms stories pack a massive amount of emotion into such short pieces. These eight stories literally bleed tragedy and angst, but in the best way possible. Laken's writing is absolutely stunning. Well-worded prose, mixed with bittersweet stories and descriptive language create one deep read. This is not a set of stories that will raise your mood, let me warn you now. However Separate Kingdoms is so beautifully tragic and so realistic that it makes you want to keep reading, despite the somber tone of the stories.

What you'll find between these covers are portraits of individuals learning, or struggling, to cope. Each one of these stories contains someone who is battling inner demons, fleeing from reality, longing for something more, or simply avoiding everything in an effort to blend in. It is no surprise that sometimes I was uncomfortable while reading these stories. Watching these characters navigate their respective inner battles is heart wrenching and sometimes hits a bit too close to home. Laken's ability to write the bare, naked souls of her characters is admirable, to say the very least.

I truly don't think I will be rereading this compilation. Although I was drawn in at the time, Separate Kingdoms is most assuredly not a light read. I applaud Valerie Laken for her ability to shine a spotlight on the dark and gritty parts of all of us. These stories may not make you feel good, but they will definitely make you feel something. The only word I can truly think of to explain what you'll find between the covers of this book is "poignant", but even that doesn't seem like enough of a description. If you are a lover of short stories, or even a reader of great fiction for that matter, Separate Kingdoms is definitely something that you will want to check out. ( )

Short story collections are the poorer cousins of novels in the fiction world. Publishers are very leery of them unless the author has already somehow proven himself as a saleable commodity, preferrably with a successful novel. And I must admit that I don't read many short stories myself. I heard of SEPARATE KINGDOMS from a writer friend, Don Lystra, who authored a much acclaimed first novel, SEASON OF WATER AND ICE. Now Don is looking for a publisher for (you guessed it) a group of short stories. I hope he finds one, because I'm eagerly looking forward to reading more of his fiction in whatever form.

I am extremely impressed with Laken's collection. Because she is obviously a writer who knows what she's about, and writes about what she knows. The thing that sets this book apart from other story collections is its use of alternate settings. Three of the eight stories here are set in the former USSR, in Moscow and its outlying suburbs and villages. Laken lived in the area back in the early 90s and has apparently made subsequent visits since then. Hence the title of the collection perhaps - the US and the USSR as 'separate kingdoms.'

But there are other possibilities too, and they are easy to find in each of the stories. The first one, for example, "Before Long," contrasts the world of the sighted with the blind, represented by Anton, a Russian boy who is nearing puberty, with all its normal awkwardness emphasized even more by his handicap. Childhood, adolescence and the adult world are all separate kingdoms too, of course - layers of interpretations here, I suppose, if you wanna do that kinda thing. Me, I was mostly caught up in the stories and their characters. They're all that good - and real - with dead-on perfect and believable dialogue, with occasional Russian words and expressions thrown in to add a little authenticity.

"Spectators" is one of the US stories, set in Illinois, about the often unexplored world of amputees, another 'kingdom' often ignored by 'normal' people. And

Another story, "Scavengers," looks at the odd dilemma posed by the collapse of the banking and financial community recently, which poignantly juxtaposes the plight of the homeless with whole neighborhoods of empty foreclosed houses - the haves and the have-nots, with the emphasis on the latter.

"The God of Fire" looks at the familial chasm (a ruptured relationship) between an adult daughter and her distant, difficult father, who is clinging to life in a hospital ICU, having suffered a ruptured aortic aneurism.

And in the title story, which might have been subtitled, "Look, Ma - No Thumbs," Laken subtly examines the perhaps not so significant distinction between man and the animal kingdom. This story is presented in a unique columnar format with two sides of the same story (a father and son) being told side-by-side, which presents the reader with the choice of either reading the stories piecemeal, the way one might concurrently read a couple of different news articles on the same page, or simply read one column all the way through and then go back and read the second one. In any case, it works whichever way you choose. And as a dog lover, I was especially pleased with Laken's descriptions of the two family dogs - small stuff, I know, but representative of the kind of detail that makes these stories come alive.

For me, however, the showcase piece of this stellar collection is "Map of the City," which is, I suspect, largely autobiographical. The unnamed narrator (at least I don't think she is ever named), an exchange student from a US state college who is caught up in the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, is utterly believable in her uncertainties and doubts, and particularly in her daily struggles with the intricacies of the Russian tongue and the difficulties and loneliness this dilemma brings with it. The dialogue in this particular story is understandably spare and minimal, reflecting the language barrier and the tortured syntax that often results. The American student and her Russian friends are perfect representatives of the 'separate kingdoms' of the book's title. As someone who worked with and studied the Russian language for over twenty-five years, I can attest to its difficulties. Fluency in such a language is hard-won, if indeed it is ever achieved.

Perhaps this is why I like these stories so much. Because Laken dared to write of a foreign, alien culture - the former USSR as a 'separate kingdom.' And yet she does it in the humblest most honest terms, acknowledging how little she really knows - indeed how little any of us can know - about the realities of life in a suddenly broken country. There are only intimations here of how quickly the Soviet union fractured and how old ethnic rivalries and hatreds of all the now separate republics suddenly flared again into wars and uprisings, separate kingdoms forming and reforming.

But every one of these eight stories, in both settings, is carefully crafted and faultlessly executed. Perhaps there is yet hope for the survival of the art of the short story. This is a fascinating and simply terrific book. My, how I ramble on. Good stuff, Ms. Laken. Enough said. ( )

Okay. Let's see. This was different. This was not what I was expecting. This was not your average, every day quick read. It wasn't a long book to read. No, nothing like that. The author did a great job at breaking it done into eight different stories, but I didn't really grasp them like I wanted to. These short stories were, simply put, interesting. Families divided, so to speak. Divided by life's challenges. Divided by emotions. Simply divided, and trying to over come that great space between them.

Taken between Russia and America, Laken creates these short stories with dark emotions. She creates them with everyday life issues and turns them into stories that aren't your normal stories. With stories like FAMILY PLANNING, about a lesbian couple in Russia trying to adopt....well that is one that, while interesting, wasn't one I would want to read again. Reading through these, expecting something different, well I can honestly say that I didn't really like any of them. They were too dark in their emotions and not what I was expecting at all.

Sadly, I can only give book 3 stars. I, myself, will not be reading this one again. However, I can recommend this book to those who like the darker emotion filled stories. They are well written, but just not my taste. ( )

These eight short stories pack a punch. These are dark, moody pieces: not emo moody or overwrought angst, but a steady, grim reality without forced optimism or cheer. But in a good way, a great way: the writing is exceptional, the storytelling vibrant, and the characters are maddeningly real.

Laken's gift as a storyteller is that you still want to read, despite the painful awkwardness or the grim uneasiness the characters face.

In 'Family Planning' a lesbian couple is in Russia to adopt a baby when they learn they can chose between two children. This story had me literally wiggling with discomfort: the characters made me uncomfortable because I know people like them and this very simple set up was just heavy with implication and inevitability and promises of painful disappointment. It was discomforting because it felt so real.

The tone of the stories just isn't for me -- but it's absolutely my tastes and not any knock against Laken. However, two absolutely grabbed me -- again, for the fantastic writing and great characterization: 'Map of the City', which has a very autobiographical feel, featuring a young American woman from the Midwest living in Russia in the early '90s; and the titular story, a side by side account of an evening from the viewpoints of an injured father and his teenaged son.

My wife, who loves Shirley Jackson, Aimee Bender, and Herman Melville, Danish films, and New England winters, adored this collection. I had passed the book to her just to read a single story and didn't get it back until she had finished the entire thing.

I think this would be a great selection for book groups -- these stories invite conversation about relationships and the choices one would make -- and anyone who enjoys fiction that is a little more raw but still well-written. ( )

Mostly unsatisfying character study stories in which the characters refuse to make important decisions regarding their broken lives. The title story has an interesting format, and the characters are all well drawn, but this is uneventful writing overall and left me wishing for some evidence of closure. ( )