For Sale By Owner is a collection of short stories, and is the first book from Kelcey Parker. With a focus on womanhood, and set in contemporary (but anonymous) American suburbia (Parker herself grew up in one suburb after another), it explores themes including marriage, parenting, fidelity (or lack thereof), and death.

So how can a reader who has never visited American suburbia, appreciate or understand a book of this subject matter? Infinite representations of modern-day American suburbia constantly penetrate the senses of film and television viewers around the world. For the vast majority of these representations, it seems that the images and impressions are most commonly of happy couples, well-adjusted children, safe neighbourhoods, and friendly, wholesome communities. Some have tried to question and explore this apparent utopia, and have incorporated a lot of visual imagery in doing so (for example, the 1999 film American Beauty or the current television series Desperate Housewives). However, with total reliance on the written word and the reader’s own ability to imagine and visualise, Kelcey Parker draws on the existing simulacra and does more than just scratch the surface to explore suburbia further; she drills a well to dig down towards the core.

Domestic Air Quality, the opening story, is incredibly witty and enjoyable. Seeming fairly light-hearted and amusing, it easily draws the reader in. Then, suddenly, you realise that it is not what it seemed. Unexpectedly dark and dangerous, the story is like enjoying the pleasure of slowly unwrapping a beautifully packaged gift, only to find a ticking time bomb inside. Kelcey Parker, it would seem, is on a mission to remove the sugar-coating and tell some very different stories of contemporary suburbia.

My personal feelings on the individual stories varied. Some, such as Domestic Air Quality, Biography of Your Husband, The Complete Babysitter’s Handbook, and Lent, easily held my attention from the start. Others, such as What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why, and I Heard a Fly Buzz, I struggled with. I wonder if Parker has intentionally written them in such a way that the reader may be compelled to return to the stories in an attempt to delve deeper. I could not shift the feeling that what was written between the lines was every bit as important as the actual words on the page. I do not feel able to say that I enjoyed this book, but that is in part due to the subject matter (can anyone imagine liking a story about domestic violence?). However, I did find it to be astute and perceptive, as Parker addresses the uncomfortable and uneasy issues that many of us prefer to not discuss, even if or when we experience them ourselves.

Fans of the critically acclaimed collection of short stories by A. M. Homes, The Safety of Objects, should definitely read For Sale By Owner. There may be a twenty-one year gap between the initial publication of each book, but comparisons can certainly be drawn between these two female writers who share interests in domesticity, identity, materialism, and the eerie side of life in modern America.

Parker has no reservations about exploring and revealing the sinister underbelly of domestic life in America today. Her stories perhaps will not be to everyone’s taste, but her willingness as a woman, to write about the weaknesses, betrayals, facades, and fears of other women, is daring. Kore Press states that it “publishes women’s writing to deepen awareness and advance progressive social change.” I cannot help but feel that in publishing For Sale By Owner, Kore Press has stayed true to this, and I suspect this book will be utilised as an academic and critical text, as well as being read by enthusiasts of  controversial contemporary literature.

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