BOOK REVIEW:

“An Anthology of Short Stories and Verses” by Theodore Cromack (CreateSpace, 188 pages, $8.95)

By TINKY WEISBLAT

The stories and poems in Ted Cromack’s new anthology were clearly written over many years. A number of shared characteristics define them: a concern for the plight of veterans, a sense of humor and irony, and an interest in the smorgasbord we call life.

Cromack was raised in our area but left western Massachusetts to serve in the Air Force. He has a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts and has taught at a number of colleges and universities. He now lives in Shelburne and has written two previous books, both novels.

His “Anthology of Short Stories and Verses” offers something for just about everyone. The most complex story is the first in the book, “Ben’s Odyssey.” The protagonist in this tale, Ben Vanelli of Brooklyn, finds himself fighting for the Union in the Civil War.

“Ben’s Odyssey” has enough plot turns for a novel, and in fact Cromack notes in his introduction that this story is part of a longer work he once planned.

The reader can’t help feeling for Ben, who is buffeted about by his ethnic identity, his commanding officers, and fate but manages to get through the war … barely.

Most of the other stories are more compact. They will also surprise the reader.

A young woman abused by her boyfriend finds a novel way out of the relationship.

A veteran returning home wonders what kind of welcome he will receive.

A husband and wife find a relative about whom they never knew.

Cromack demonstrates a love of our rural backyard, both in some of the stories (one touches on the tragedy the building of the Quabbin Reservoir represented for the area) and in a couple of nonfiction essays.

“Milking Time” recalls the author’s childhood on his father’s dairy farm and recreates the rhythm of the days and the seasons for readers. “A Brief History of the Shelburne Church” traces the past, distant and recent, of the First Congregational Church of Shelburne.

Written in the 1990s, that essay is already a bit of a period piece, but its themes of community and religion in a changing world endure for New Englanders.

In addition to his stories, Cromack’s book includes 16 poems. Most deal with nature and veterans. He is at his most personal in these verses. Like most of the book, they should touch the reader with their reflections on service, personal connections, and life.

Ted Cromack will sign copies of his new book from 2 to 6 p.m. on Sat., Aug. 6, at the World Eye Bookshop in Greenfield.

Tinky Weisblat is the author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook” and “Pulling Taffy.” Visit her website, www.TinkyCooks.com