Kaleidoscope Jane by Carolyn Breckinridge

There is the open road, but that’s dangerous. Sadly, many of the lonely women are trapped either in their parents’ homes or in unhappy marriages and long to escape. Several stories are of the “she’s leaving home” variety. But somehow a person can end right-side up again.” “To help you remember life turns you right-side up and upside down and all manner of sideways. Jane often has a kaleidoscope in her hand, lets young Katie look through it, finally gives it to her. And with Jane, who wears the same clothes every day, and smells bad but is not like the others. Now they live with Johnny, a one-armed man, and the mentally ill Gertrude. Katie and her mother had a conventional life but grandmother got sick, mom forgot to pay the insurance premiums and their house burned down. The action takes place near a shelter for homeless people, those going through a really rough patch. The title story, “Kaleidoscope Jane,” which Breckinridge uses to conclude her volume, is perhaps best described as a fable, nearly Aesopian. A few even have the twist we might call “so it was all a dream after all,” which is definitely not in vogue, but can be pleasing for readers with more traditional tastes. A few have surprise endings things were not as they seemed. Henry endings, when a reversal is sprung on the reader. I suspect they would not be well-received in a master of fine arts workshop. The stories are not avant-garde or cutting edge. Most of these women are of a certain age, sometimes downright old, but a few are girls just starting out. Now we have “Kaleidoscope Jane & Other Stories,” her first collection of 15 stories, each about and named for the main female character. Those books have earned her the Druid City Arts award for literature. ‘Short story collection teems with plot twists’ By Don Noble, The Tuscaloosa News, Sunday, July 29, 2018Ĭarolyn Ezell, writing as Carolyn Breckinridge, has published two mysteries set in Tuscaloosa, “Tuscaloosa Moon” and “Tuscaloosa Boneyard.” While not exactly cozies, these are not grim either.

Kaleidoscope Jane by Carolyn Breckinridge