Wear Your Home Like a Scar by Nik Korpon

Wear Your Home Like a Scar is a master class in how to write both short stories and noir. Not a word wasted, no subject too dark to tackle, and absolute unflinching acceptance of the fact that all too often there is no such thing as happily ever after. There isn’t a misfire in the bunch, but there were a few standouts for me.

“A Hundred for the Crows” illustrates just how deep rifts can run, even between brothers. Their relationship poisoned by events that happened decades ago in childhood, a lifetime of estrangement and resentment finally erupts with unforeseen consequences.

“This Will All End Well” is not easily summarized, in large part because it constantly keeps the reader off balance and summarizing it would ruin the changes of direction that occur. There are only three characters involved, two men and one woman, but just what their relationships are to one another constantly shifts as events unfold. The tables don’t just turn, they spin like a Lazy Susan, forcing readers to continuously reassess their perception.

“Only the Vultures Will See Me Hang” is another story of brothers, one who served in WWII, the other in Korea. Back home and drifting, they survive from robbery to robbery. When one brother decides to take something more than cash from a diner holdup gone wrong, it ends up destroying them in a way even the wars couldn’t.

“The Road to Sabaneta” is a heartbreaking account of two young men, best friends since middle school, who were first brought together by circumstance, bonded by experience, then, ironically, torn apart because of their love for each other.

Start to finish, every story in the collection packs a powerful punch, the impact of which lingers long after you’ve finished.

Wear Your Home Like a Scar is available from Down & Out Books.