IN THE GRAY by William R. Potter

I’m enjoying Lighting the Dark Side: Six Modern Tales so much that I’m already onto the story after this one. So, I’m going to take a small breather and review “In the Gray.”

It is a story of loss, anxiety, and one man’s struggle with racism. Love found the narrator, Jerry, the story is told in he first person, while he was selling his paintings. She bought the most expensive piece he was showing.

The problem is that his parents will never accept her. His parents won’t even acknowledge that they have granddaughter because she is half yellow.

To be honest, the subject matter, important as it is, is old and tired. I know that mixed race couples still have trouble. I’m glad that people are still writing about it. Love is love, love who you want regardless of what others think.

The refreshing angle to the story is that it is told completely while the narrator is on the phone with his mother. The reader gets the most interesting details though the conflict of what the narrator is thinking and what he carefully chooses to say. I really liked the writing.

I don’t want to give away too much of this story. Besides the well executed banter between Jerry and his mother, there are a few other surprises.

Potter, William R. “In the Gray.” Lighting the Dark Side: Six Modern Tales. Xlibris, 2008. p. 79 - 88