Life is a delicate balancing act. For every decision that must be faced, there are pros and cons to be weighed. Is that boyfriend in L.A. worth giving up a paid internship for? How much does the tally tip when you factor in his flea-ridden dog? Is buying yourself expensive bracelets for your birthday worse than no one noticing their sparkle? What about when they comment on your new pimple instead? From the very first line of Ashley Cowger’s fantastic new collection, On the Plus Side, we’re put on guard that: “Everything in life has a cost.”
Irritants like fleas and forgotten birthdays abound in Cowger’s stories, but there is serious trauma, too. In the book’s longest story, “The Straight and Narrow,” gay college student Timothy goes home for the funeral of his extremely homophobic father. As Timothy visits the hateful spaces where his dad practiced his bigotry, he can’t stop wondering: can a parent both love you and also, hate who you are?
Cowger’s prose deftly creates a world that is both tense and dryly matter-of-fact. In “Better Days,” another college-age protagonist deals with the suicide of her twin sister, along with her own escalating ideations. In “First Snow,” young parents try to calm their infant in a drive full of tension and menace. These stories may seem an odd fit next to the low-level anxiety of a birthday pimple and a dog with too many fleas, but Cowger treats her entire cast of characters with a delicate hand. Their isolation, uncertainty, and malaise are more unifying than dissonant.
Cowger’s diversity of perspectives and form elevate each concern to a higher level. A variety of genders and sexualities are represented, and while there are more straight relationships than not, there’s a distinct queer sensibility at play. Who knew how delightful a genderqueer retelling of Cinderella could be? Some particularly fine choices in “The True Story of Annabella” are the absence of ugly siblings, the removal of vilifying non-traditional family configurations, and a welcome new spin on what defines a happy ending.
On the Plus Side dwells heavily in the transitory life stages of early adulthood, where relationships are new, and often unsteady. Isolation and loneliness dwell under the surface for many of Cowger’s characters, but it ratchets up in “Bubble,” a story set in the early to middle days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two couples ban together in a pandemic “bubble” that bursts in a rather surprising way. Yet the protagonist’s reality, and the trouble she’s brewing for herself and her marriage, represent just one side of the equation. The actions of others nearby impact her in a way she doesn’t see coming, providing a fitting resonance with our turbulent times.
There is a vibrant connective tissue between the stories in On the Plus Side, with a mirroring effect that deepens our experience. Two standard poodles appear in two different stories. Does it matter if those two dogs are the same dog? Do we care more about their fate if they are related? The same doubling kismet ripples throughout the book. The fate of twins. The fate of two gay young men who look remarkably alike. We are all connected more than we realize. Aren’t we?
In perhaps my favorite story of the book, “Thank You and God Bless,” a mysterious tension fills the air at a dinner party with two adult siblings and their spouses. The source of the trouble isn’t immediately clear, and Cowger’s orchestration is covertly political—the familiar clash between people who have too much and those who appear to have too little—yet maybe, are doing just fine? (If perhaps, by unconventional means).
The ending piece is a short-short, entitled “The Final Score.” If life, or love, is a game, what happens to the deck of cards when we’re gone? As a flash fiction fan, it’s gratifying to see such a sharp, brief piece provide a holistically satisfying finale for this powerful collection.
What Ashley Cowger has achieved with On the Plus Side is worthy of loud celebration. In these late-stage capitalism days, it’s hard not to feel like we’re all just walking spreadsheets. Certainly, the answer to every life decision should be quantifiable, right? It’s “Econ 101 stuff,” Cowger’s paid-intern-turned-waitress-in-love tells us. Each story in this collection is a satisfying read, with compelling characters and propulsive narrative drive. Woven together, the sum is far greater than its parts, as Cowger renders the anxious melancholy of 21st century America with intense clarity and authenticity.
On the Plus Side, by Ashley Cowger. Galileo Press, June 2023. 146 pages. $16.42, paper.
Mary Lynn Reed’s debut short story collection, Phantom Advances, was released this year by Split/Lip Press. Her prose has appeared in Fourteen Hills, Mississippi Review, Colorado Review, and many other places. She lives in western New York with her wife, and together they co-edit the online literary journal MoonPark Review.
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Heavy Feather Review 