Authorpreneur Dashboard – Barbara Southard
The Pinch of the Crab
Literature & Fiction
Collection of ten short stories set in Puerto Rico that explore personal crises embedded in the social turbulence of island life aggravated by natural disasters. A small boy feels sad and bewildered when the tiny crab he befriended on the beach pinches him, and his confusion deepens after witnessing the violent arrest of a teenager. A young girl begs her father not to leave after a huge earthquake shakes their home. A mother is awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call from her son who has been jailed for possession of marijuana. A businessman tells his wife that he has given large sums to a high official in the government department that awarded his firm a contract, but not to worry, he’s doing everything by the book. An American exchange student’s announcement of her engagement to marry a Puerto Rican who shares her passion for magic realism provokes the revelation of devastating truths about her beloved father. A journalist investigating the murder of a pro-independence leader suspects that the CIA is after him. When her estranged husband comes to return their pet Golden Retriever, a woman hesitates before opening the door.
Book Bubbles from The Pinch of the Crab
Harrowing Return to Childhood Home
Victoria’s decision to take her husband to visit her parents is the beginning of a treacherous journey into the past in the story titled “En el campo (In the Country).” She grew up in the mountainous interior of Puerto Rico with a father who idealized the struggle of hardy country folk to make ends meet but was insensitive to the challenges that a young girl may face in traditional machista culture. Her visit to her parents after eight years of estrangement revives memories of a terrible incident of her girlhood that her father chose to ignore. Painful revelations force Victoria to make difficult choices. The tale of Victoria is one of ten stories in The Pinch of the Crab and other stories, set in Puerto Rico, that delve into personal crises in the context of social challenges posed by high divorce rates, political corruption, domestic violence, and excessive use of force by law enforcement. These personal crises are mostly seen from the point of view of the women involved. Many stories are set in the difficult period when normal life was complicated by Hurricane Maria, a huge earthquake, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In the title story, The Pinch of the Crab, a small boy feels bewildered when the tiny crab he befriended on the beach pinches him, and his confusion deepens after witnessing the violent arrest of a teenager. Please click on synopsis to peruse the themes of the other stories in the collection.
