Title: Helens: Not Necessarily About Sex
Author: Matthew Louis Kalash
Publisher: Brilliant Books Literary
ISBN: 979-8-88945-282-9
Pages: 328
Genre: Literature & Fiction/Short Stories
Reviewed by: Liz Konkel
Hollywood Book Reviews
This collection of stories creates a unique exploration of themes about love, art, literature, relationships, and much more. Each story features different characters which offer a unique outlook as these stories occur during a time that had yet to be impacted by Internet culture. Each narrative finds a character searching for fulfillment and seeking a profound answer which is then found in surprising places from art to relationships to literature. The characters bring to life their unique narratives with echoes threaded throughout each one connecting the stories in surprising ways.
Among these stories is one which follows a couple on their honeymoon as they embark on an intriguing turn of events following the discovery of a manuscript reputed to belong to Francesco del Gicondo, known to be the husband of Mona Lisa herself. This exploration of love, relationships, art, and history are examples of themes found throughout the various stories.
These stories overlap with themes, style, and tone which offer unique explorations that follow narrators who often feel as if they’re searching for purpose and the meaning of life. This is discovered in various ways with two significant ones – being art and literature, seen as prominent elements in the first story of the collection and the longest one. Each of these stories also explores the relationship between husband and wife through two examples which stand out in the collection. The opening story finds the central couple with some conflict between them over the wife’s family, and the narrator feels unhappy with where he is in life. However, he seems to find an awakening through art which is a connection that appears throughout the other stories as well and creates a poignancy to the overall tone.
The theme of searching finds its way into multiple moments where questioning life is explored by connecting to history through factors such as literature and art. There are various characters in these stories which impact the narrators such as Spiro in the first story who is the father-in-law questioned about his relationship and has interesting ‘words of wisdom’ to offer. Another is Chas (En Passant) with whom the protagonist plays chess and Kent (Helens) the intern. These are two supporting characters that hold significance to the arc the protagonists go through to reach the end of their stories. This is seen in the lure that the protagonist has for Kent’s girlfriend and how the intern represents this correspondence between life and history. A contemplation that stirs thought-provoking questions as you make your way through the collection and inspires you to keep reading.
Art and literature are consistently linked to intimacy, relationships, and history with the Manuscript a significant example of how these are connected. The honeymooning couple become drawn to this manuscript which brings to life the history of Francesco and his relationship with his wife. These two marriages are reflections of each other, shown literally in the formatting that weaves between the manuscript and the honeymoon. This discovery adds a thrill to their romance which seems to draw out different sides of this couple. One element found in each story is the timeframe which takes place in a time before the current Internet culture. This creates a timeless aura in each story that feels as if these events could occur at any time and successfully immerse you into the realities that have been created.
Helens: Not Necessarily About Sex is a collection of stories which are surprising, poignant, and beautifully written with themes exploring relationships, sense of self, art, history, and literature.