Keep this “Door” closed

“Behind the Front Door”

John Powell Riley

PublishAmerica 2003

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“Behind the Front Door”

John Powell Riley

PublishAmerica 2003

The most disappointing thing about this collection of short stories from John Powell Riley, a former naval officer, pilot and sailor, isn’t the plots of the stories, which range from being extremely interesting to downright cliche. Nor is it that Riley writes with the dexterity of a high school freshman who just completed his first semester of remedial English. Rather, it’s the fact that this man has led a fascinating life, and where his stories should be intriguing and fun to read, they fail miserably.

In the preface, Riley shares with us the extraordinary range of professions he’s held: “I have had the good fortune to live a full and exciting life – a Naval officer on an Admiral’s staff in [World War II], a private pilot, a single-handed ocean cruising yachtsman, and a career in foreign commerce. My work took me to over 70 countries in almost every part of the world. For most of my working life I lived in Paris, Madrid, Geneva, and Monte Carlo. I married the beautiful, charming, lovable daughter of a Russian Countess and a Colonel in the Don Cossacks.”

Given that he had such an exciting, tremendously varied life, one would expect fascinating stories in the pages to come. While, sometimes, the author succeeds in telling a poignant tale, more often than not, he falls short of the mark.

For example, the story “Abracadabra” revolves around an American businessman named Hank, who is sent to Japan to persuade a client named Sakamoto to sign a contract for his filmmaking company. The descriptions are elementary at best. Riley describes the flight attendants on the Japanese airline by saying “The stewardesses fascinated him. They reminded him of little oriental dolls.” Later in the story, Hank asks the concierge at his hotel if there are any places in Tokyo he should avoid at night because of crime, to which the man answers that there is no crime in Tokyo because there are laws forbidding it.

We are then treated to the thoughts inside Hank’s head: “When we first contact intelligent creatures from outer space I know now just how it is going to feel, he thought. Hank had a passion to know and understand the Japanese people and their culture.” Descriptions such as these are typical of what one would find in other stories.

One redeeming story in Riley’s book is one entitled “The Beautiful People.” In it, the main character, John Riley, is invited to a dinner party, but can’t figure out why Rousseau, an arms dealer and toy manufacturer, has invited him. Only after everyone leaves does the host tell Riley that the guest of honor, a man named Bob, has leukemia and is planning to kill himself in exactly three days by overdosing on sleeping pills, and that every guest at the party except for Riley knew about it. Riley is stunned and can’t figure out why he was invited. Three nights later, after Bob dies, Rousseau calls Riley and says, “Have you wondered why it was so important for you to be with us that night? We needed someone who didn’t know – someone to help us keep up pretenses.”

This collection of short stories is hit-or-miss, with decidedly more misses than hits. Riley has some very interesting stories to share from his captivating life, but he needs a more sophisticated writing hand if he wants to be successful as a short story writer.