Book Review: Chicago Bound 2

Reviewed by Marssie Mencotti on Windy City Reviews.

Chicago Bound 2: Time and Again, by Sandra M. Colbert, is a short anthology of stories written in the style and sensibility of the past, taking place in the mostly immigrant neighborhood called Back of the Yards, due to its proximity to the vast stockyards in Chicago, Illinois. It is imbued with nostalgia toward the difficult and complicated decisions made by young people and their parents as old and new generations collide in substantive cultural and moral ways.

Colbert captures a moment in each of her stories without unnecessary exaggeration. She lets us feel the complicated emotional turmoil of her characters and what the moments meant then and now. In “The Sin,” she shows us the aftermath of rape was far direr when there was no one with whom to discuss it before a serious decision had to be made. In “Eddie and Chester,” she lets us know hero-worship of the wrong person can lead down a path contrary to our true nature. In “Being Betty,” the pretty girl that everyone envies comes to a realization that changes her life. 

The story with the most resonance was the very first, “The Pack of Four,” about boyhood friends who both admire and fiercely defend their friendship in all ways, including a secret that through the years is never voiced. It evokes the confidences that children do not share, yet may always wonder about, and the consequences of keeping a secret hidden. This story taps a sensitive area of friendship that is the secret forever kept and never revealed.

In all, the layer of cultures in conflict resound. Lithuanian, Polish, and other families set down the hard and fast rules for life that the youth are tempted to break. Even the returning veterans of the Vietnam War are not exempt from this bifurcated attitude of obvious pride and willful invisibility by the people around them.

Each of the other stories takes the point of view of those who experienced them. They are stories of incipient birth, death, perseverance, misguided loyalty, love, confusion, fear, and the emotional, raw edges that occur when current times and past culture rub against one another and often abruptly collide. 

This volume carries so much heart and love within it for a time, place, and rich cultural background. In “The Little Brown Shoe,” a small child registers the incredible sadness and sweetness of life with a token of her understanding of that which cannot be changed. 

I would have liked more depth to some of the characters and descriptions, although I understand these are gentle watercolor portraits and not bold advertising lithographs. Also, a table of contents would be helpful to find the stories more easily. As a longtime Chicago resident, I know about the stockyards and the neighborhoods surrounding them, but this book can be enjoyable to a broader audience. A paragraph at the beginning or end of the volume, which discusses the Eastern Europeans living in Back of the Yards and more about their culture and migration, would be a helpful guide to enriching the experience of reading this book.

Sandra Colbert’s book is a gentle gift of remembrance that doesn’t leave out the past difficult decisions of parents or grandparents. She includes the good aspects as well, allowing the reader to reflect on the past and attempt to adjust for the future.