Shackles and More Gripping Tales by James Hanna

Digging into the intimacies of life, with an authentic and striking voice, author James Hanna has curated an excellent collection of tightly edited stories in Shackles and More Gripping Tales. Cutting into the heart of the American experience, ranging from teenage angst to the pain of losing those you have loved, these stories swing from heart-wrenching to inspiring, demonstrating his great flexibility and empathy as a writer.

Set in different times and places, this collection moves at a quick pace, and each story is distinctly separate. Some stories tackle social issues from a more philosophical angle, such as “USA,” while other stories provide a more visceral peek into a troubling premise, sharing a message in a very different way, such as “The Hangings.” Hanna isn’t afraid of slipping into the realm of the surreal either, and some of the stranger stories are the most memorable, such as the utterly bizarre “I am Not a Crook” and the spooky “Little Darling.”

With a mastery of colloquial language and spot-on dialogue that feels torn from real life, Hanna achieves what so many other short-story writers miss: fully developed characters, even in such a confined medium. It is impossible to categorize this collection, as the author’s writing is both contemporary and anachronistic, malleable but well-structured, and endlessly intriguing. An undeniable bonus of Hanna’s writing is an ability to appeal to a wide range of tastes and ages, so while every story may not be for everyone, there is something here that should please most any reader.