When we think of California we often think of beaches, surfing, and getting a tan. Or maybe we think of show business, Hollywood, and glamour. Perhaps we think of the Real Housewives of both the OC and of Beverly Hills. And we can’t forget the California of Silicon Valley or the cable cars of San Francisco.
California is a place to escape for many people, but it isn’t always a place where one finds fame and riches. And these tales are told in Linda Feyder’s book All’s Fair: And Other California Stories.
A majority of characters in All’s Fair are not California natives. They are transplants from places like Mexico and New York. They all seeks lives they believe are promised by California. But are they achieving their dreams or are their lives just like the ones they left?
All’s Fair begins with a story of the same name. A woman named Joyce has just moved to California with her husband Louis. She hopes the dry desert air will help him with his health issues. While attending to her husband she befriends a young albino boy named Brian. It is through Brian she learns more about bigotry and the hate some people receive just for being different.
In the tale “Joint Custody,” a young girl named Emily is spending the summer with her father in a small California town while her mother is doing business overseas. A New York City kid, Emily not only has to deal with a place so different from home, she also has to come to terms with her father dating a much younger woman.
In “Robbie Released,” Isabel is on pins and needles. Her loser brother, Robbie, has been released from prison. Isabel anxiously awaits his return. Will Robbie figure out that Isabel turned him in? And what will happen if he does know of Isabel’s “betrayal?”
In the story “Blind Date,” a man spends an awkward evening with a young woman while pining for two women from his past. He seems to be more into these long-gone ladies than he is with the woman sitting across from him.
All’s Fair isn’t a book filled with a lot of action. Instead, these are mostly stories of reflection in a singular moment in the characters’ lives. Many of them are looking inward, looking back and asking, “What if?” and “What does life have in store for me?” They may not be the glamorous stars of mythical Hollywood, but they are very real. All of the characters are in search of something. If you’re looking for a book with a lot of introspection, you just might like All’s Fair: And Other California Stories.
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