Something to keep an eye out for

 I recently received in the mail the latest book by poet Lynn Levin, a collection of stories entitled House Parties (Spuyten Duyvil). The pub date is May. 

The other day I read the first of the stories, “The Path to Halfway Falls.” I thought it magical. And since I have no outlet for reviewing these days, I thought I’d bring the book to public attention in a new way. I am going to post accounts of my reading it. This will be the first installment.

This first story seems straightforward enough:

Chuck, Higby, and Dean set out at first light intending to head to a lookout over a valley. 

About an hour and a half into their trek, the three friends met a wide-eyed man and a dark-eyed woman descending the trail. The man, his voice breathy with excitement, told the three friends that he and the woman had seen an extraordinary sight: a slender waterfall not in the guidebooks or maps. This was Halfway Falls, a secret passed from hiker to hiker. Fed by snow melt and spring rains, Halfway Falls sent off veils of mist that looked like flying angels, and the stream of water was so thin that it evaporated before it reached the ground. That was why they called it Halfway Falls.

The man tells Dean that “You can always go to the lookout … but you can only see Halfway Falls now.”

“See it before it disappears,” the woman tells him.

Dean is enthralled:

A secret place. Flying angels. A sight you could only see now. Dean could sense that the couple was exceptionally, almost preternaturally eager, and their enthusiasm inspired in him an overwhelming desire to see the awe-inspiring Halfway Falls. 

Dean is sort of the odd man out of the hiking trio, a wallpaper hanger who is the caregiver for his mother, who has MS. His sister is keeping an eye on Mom today, but his sister wants him back by 4:30 that afternoon. He has no wife and no girlfriend.

Chuck is married, but has a girlfriend on the side. Higby is married also, but seems to have a low opinion of his wife.

Higby gets directions from the couple:

They were to follow the present path up to a rock that looked like the famous comedian Bob Hope, turn left, and hike off trail through the forest; they weren’t sure how far, maybe half a mile. Then they were to listen carefully for the sound of falling water. Owing to the slender stream of the falls, the sound was faint. Nearby was a rock outcropping that looked like a mountain lion with its mouth open. To see the falls, all you had to do was climb on top of the mountain lion rock and hang over on your stomach.

But I think that’s as far I’ll go. I don’t want to give any spoilers and I don’t want to prevent others from enjoying the story on their own. But we learn much about how the three friends grow closer. 

Levin is a very poet and her ear for language is evident throughout.

And then there’s the raven, who may just be the star of the tale.