Review: Farewell to Follies by Xingu Fawcett

Farewell to Follies establishes Xingu Fawcett as a formidable short story writer with a firm finger on the pulse of human nature, as well as the natural world.

These stories vary wildly in their subject matter, but the underlying themes are universal – wrestling with death, balancing nature and the city, exploring unknown places, and the long-term impact of trauma. With an artful, yet sensitive approach to these intense issues, the stories are both harrowing and heartwarming. Fawcett understands the dynamic nature of life, and effortlessly embodies characters from different times, social backgrounds and life paths.

What is immediately noticeable is Fawcett’s relationship to storytelling. He doesn’t seem to have a typical style – the pacing shifts between these tales, as does the tone, moving from subtle to blatant. Some of these stories are simplistic and amusing, while others are dark and thought-provoking. For an author to believably discuss real-world foreign policy in one story and then dip entirely into a symbolic, description-drenched piece of surrealism in the next marks a special talent.

Fawcett also seems interested in the intimate corners of existence, and people’s secret fears. While these hidden elements are always ripe for stories, he extracts these parts of his characters’ lives gracefully, as though pickpocketing the very best parts of a persona. Couching such intricate characters within unique contexts, time periods and locales, Fawcett has imbued these stories with complexity and layers of meaning.

There is no doubt that the author is well traveled, or at least deeply in tune with global cultures, as there is an effortless sensitivity to the way different characters behave and think. Whether writing about Parisian high society or the life of the common man in Nigeria, Fawcett demonstrates a cultural understanding and eagerly immerses readers into these unique worlds. Writing short stories that are populated with characters from the same culture can be effective, but leaping between cultures and perspectives demands much more active engagement from a reader. Essentially, Fawcett challenges the audience to be immersed in all of these facets as himself, and if that is asking too much, the lush language is pleasing enough in a purely aesthetic sense.

Though the cover could be stronger, the editing in the collection is meticulous, and the writing is strong throughout. The stories work from various angles – some of them are progressive and controversial in their details, but dramatically diverse on a macro scale. The scenes vary from brutal to beautiful, and at times, it is hard to believe that all of these stories came from the same mind. The strongest aspect of the collection is its variety – if a reader does not take to a different mood or theme, the next story will be so different that it’s an entirely new experience. An argument could be made that the collection could be more focused, but its variety is the book’s selling point.

What ties all of these tales together is the skill of the writing, which is undeniable. Utilizing clever, descriptive imagery as well as terse narration, Farewell to Follies is a strong collection of stories from this emerging author.