Title: Altiplano and other Short Stories
Author: David Bassano
Genre: Literary Fiction
Book Blurb:
Altiplano and other Short Stories is a literary fiction collection of short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. Many of the stories reflect the author's human rights work, giving the collection a human rights slant. However, the stories encompass a wide range of topics, from life in the music industry to martial arts tournaments to even a little science fiction. There’s something for everyone in this anthology.
Excerpt:
March 15, 2010: Glenlivet and Turgenev on a raw, foggy Williamsburg night. That brownstone had a castle door on it, so it took a lot of energy to rap that loudly.
Through the peephole I saw a single man, his features monstrously distorted in the lens. But there was only one of him, so I unlocked the door and pulled it open.
He was an old bent white man, bald except for stubbly grey over his ears and on his unshaven face. Briary white brows over big black eyes that locked onto mine with unwavering contempt. Just stood there like that.
“What can I do for ya?” I finally asked.
“Who da hell’re you?”
“I live here. Who are you?”
“This is my house!”
I was about to slam the door when I thought to ask, “What’s the address
here?”
He gave it, correctly.
“This is my place,” he snapped. “Apartment. I live here.”
Wandering the streets on a foggy night, lost, and his family can’t find
him?
“Why doncha come in for a minute,” I said.
He stood there, unblinking, then suddenly came through the doorway
like he was going to go through me, so I sidestepped. He wore an old black mackinaw and worn leather shoes, all damp from mist and drizzle.
He stood in the middle of the room and slowly looked around.
“Where’s my…stuff?”
“Hmm?”
“That you sit on.”
I poured another tumbler of 15 Year.
“When did you live here?” I asked.
“I’m Lieutenant William J. Bulgar, United States Army. United States.”
“Yeah?”
“I grew up in Queens. It wasn’t far from here when I was a kid, but it
keeps gettin’ further away each year.”
“Scotch,” I said as I handed him the tumbler. He took it without looking
at me. Then I thought maybe it wouldn’t mix well with whatever meds he was
on –
“I enlisted the day after Pearl Harbor. Seventeen years old. Lied to d’recruiter. You understand me?”
“Sure.”
“Nineteenthregimenttwenty-fourththdivisiontenthcorps. Hawaii.
Australia. New Guinea. Philippines. Japan. Our division won six-hundred
an’ twenny-five Silver Stars. Six-hundred and twenty-five.”
He noticed the pictures on the wall with a start even though he’d been
looking at them the whole time…
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Author Biography:
David Bassano is a history professor and human rights advocate. His stories often reflect the victims, heroes, and criminals from his human rights work. He is also an avid hiker and cyclist, often found on trails in the NJ-NY-PA region.
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