Precarious
by Al Riske
December 2010 Book Pick

In Precarious, Riske shares stories of sex, love, spirituality, temptation and regret; each story introduces us to a character who struggles with his/her raw emotions that result from complex human relationships. In the coming of age story, "Sleeping with Smiley," Dean faces the dilemma of love and attraction for his best friend's girl, and it just so happens that circumstance has sent his best friend away, leaving Dean to look after her. Will Dean give in to temptation and act on his feelings for her, or will his loyalties to his best friend keep him from living a life of regret? In "Precarious," Casey is a seemingly happy married man of twenty five years, yet his new coworker Caitlin has him questioning whether a man is really meant to be monogamous for his entire life. Will Casey succumb to the urges he fantasizes about when he is with Caitlin, or will he be able to suppress them for the sake of his rock-solid marriage?

These types of scenarios and struggles are presented in each story--each character having to face a difficult decision, having to grow up, having to question his beliefs, having to learn a lesson the hard way. Each story has a different setting with unique and believable characters, all who must face the reality of living in a complicated and thorny world.

This book is a quick and casual read that you can put down and come back to easily, as each story can effortlessly be read as a standalone piece. However, the themes of each story all tie together, making the collection have a good flow from story to story if you choose to read it all in one sitting. The only downside to a collection of short stories such as Precarious is that the character development is limited and the emotional attachment/investment in any given character is not as deep as it would be in a longer novel.

Book Club Picks: Precarious Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever experienced a conflict between your religious views and your love life (or any aspect of your life for that matter)? How do you relate to the characters in the stories who went through similar struggles?
2. In "Precarious," do you think Casey did anything wrong in having a "friendship" with Caitlin? Would you be upset if you knew that your spouse/significant other was having such a relationship with someone else, even if it was not sexual?
3. What do you think is the outcome of the story "Taken?" How do you foresee the relationship between Allison, Stephanie, and Jay turning out?

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Al Riske, author of Precarious

What made you want to write a collection of short stories rather than a novel? How is writing a short story different than a novel and what considerations must you make when doing so?

I've always admired people who could say a lot in a few words. That's what story writers like Tobias Wolff and Elizabeth Tallent do. So I wanted to see if I could follow their examples. But the process, for me, is pretty much the same whether I'm writing a story or a novel. In the case of "Dance Naked" I thought I was writing a novel, but I got to the end in 31 pages. So that was it. "Sleeping with Smiley" actually was a novel at one point, but then I realized I could capture the essence of the story much more quickly. I generally try to let the story itself dictate how long it should be, but if it goes on too long, I'll cut it back.

Precarious interview with Al Riske

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Al Riske, author of Precarious

"Pray For Rain," "X's," "What She Said," and "Just Admit It" all have characters who face some sort of conflict or confusion when it comes to their religion and how it affects their sexual desires. Specifically, in "Just Admit It" you reference the Bible verse, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Why did you choose to put the "Doing right by God" versus "Giving in to your sexual desires" scenario in so many of your short stories?

I grew up attending church nearly every Sunday, so that's a big part of who I am. The duality of it all still fascinates me. There's this conflict between the physical and the spiritual, or seems to be. I know people who say, "It's only sex," but for me it was never that simple.

Precarious interview with Al Riske

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Al Riske, author of Precarious

You also write a lot about married men's desires and fantasies involving other women. In "Precarious," Casey appears to be happily married to the love of his life, Elaine, yet he finds himself getting deeper and deeper in an "inappropriate" relationship with his co-worker Caitlin. Is Casey meant to represent the typical married man, who seems to everyone else as happily married yet still finds himself tempted by the thrill of another woman?

I don't think Casey is typical. At least not where I live. He married his college sweetheart, the first girl he ever slept with, and has always been faithful to her. Which means he doesn't know what it's like to sleep with anyone else. Not before he was married or after. He doesn't have the same range of experience as his friends, who may be single or divorced or at least have prior experiences. On the other hand, they can't imagine what he has. Casey has to decide which is better, because he knows he can't have both. In that sense, the story was inspired by The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

Precarious interview with Al Riske

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Al Riske, author of Precarious

I have to say, the story "Taken" had the most bizarre ending of all your stories for me. Do Allison, Stephanie, and Jay really all end up living together in the house? What is the relationship between the three of them?

Really? Well, no, this is fiction. But that's how the story goes. It was a surprise to me, too, that it would end up that way. Theoretically, it could work. But probably not. I don't really know. I admit the ending is bizarre, but I read "Taken," by request, to a book club in San Francisco, made up entirely of women, and they seemed to really enjoy it. That surprised me, actually. I always thought of it as more of a male fantasy.

Precarious interview with Al Riske

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Al Riske, author of Precarious

I like how you told the story of "Men Are Such Boys" in three different parts: Deirdre's viewpoint, Randy's viewpoint and How It Ends. It's interesting to see how each one's perspective contributes to the overall story and how certain circumstances of both sides tie together the ending. Why did you choose to do this story in this particular fashion?

Like most of the stories in Precarious, that one evolved over time. In the first few drafts, I was cutting back and forth between Deirdre's point of view and Randy's with every scene. I was really fond of the story then, but it wasn't getting the response I wanted from readers. Nobody really liked it, and I didn't know why. I needed to do something, but what? Then, I don't know why, I decided to present almost the entire story from Deirdre's point of view, then again from Randy's, finally bringing the two viewpoints together for the ending. That did the trick. Readers started saying it was my best story yet. I think it's because you get more uninterrupted time with each character, enough time to bond. And you naturally buy into first point of view before finding out there's more to the story. That change in perception makes it more interesting, I think.

Precarious interview with Al Riske

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Al Riske, author of Precarious

The last story, "Your Eyes Only," was a little bit darker and more mysterious than the others. It involves a storyline with a rape and murder--the most violence that you write about in the entire collection. Why did you choose to go this route with this particular story? Where did the idea come from?

I had been reading some really good hard-core crime fiction, thanks to my buddy Greg Bardsley, who has been getting his stuff into a number of noir anthologies like Uncage Me and Sex, Thugs, and Rock & Roll. It's not the kind of thing I'm normally drawn to, but I liked the muscularity of the writing and the breakneck pace. I was itching to give it a try. Then my yoga instructor told me about a woman who had a heart transplant. She started craving steak and beer and listening to heavy-metal music. Not things she normally did. But she later discovered that the donor of her heart had always loved those things. I happened to relay the story to my sister-in-law Gretchen, and she suggested turning it into a short story but with eyes instead of a heart. I took it from there, adding a noir twist.

Precarious interview with Al Riske

Book Club Discussion: Interview with Al Riske, author of Precarious

Can you tell us anything about the novel that you are currently writing?

It's called The Boy Who Broke Sabrina's Window, and it's about a 17-year-old boy who accidentally breaks the window of a woman nearly twice his age. The two become fast friends, and in the course of one high-desert summer, they share confidences, intercede in each other's love lives, and go on a date that scandalizes the town. As in the stories in Precarious, they confront questions of fidelity, desire, and the nature of love. So I guess you could call it a deeper exploration of my obsessions.

Precarious interview with Al Riske

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