‘Anatomies’: Collection offers striking picture of the body

Iowa City native Susan McCarty has penned an absorbing collection of stories in which human bodies - hale and frail - figure prominently. 'Anatomies” offers striking imagery, diverse forms of storytelling, and memorable characters often struggling to make peace with their own bodies.

Sex, as might be expected, is at the center of several of the stories. For example, in 'Fellowship,” a teenage girl, upset at the dissolution of her parents' marriage, seeks to lose herself in sex, only to be thwarted by a boyfriend under the restrictive - if literally interpreted - influence of a youth pastor. In 'Kindness,” a man who is paid to enact rape fantasies finds his true relationship unraveling in disturbing ways. McCarty is unblinking in her portrayal of the ugly side of sexual longing and the ways it can undo us.

Throughout the book, McCarty plays with form. In 'Field Reports,” we witness the arc of a relationship through a series of reports that record various details including the subjects' blood alcohol levels, pulse rates, and the positioning of their upper and lower bodies. In 'Anamnesis,” a character is revealed solely through unusually detailed listing of her medical history.

My favorite story in the collection is 'Shearing Day,” which imagines the interactions of two young boys, each of whom has had a heart transplant, but who are having significantly different post-operation experiences. McCarty convincingly explores the ways in which health, or the lack of it, can change the way friends treat one another.

The depiction of the physical in 'Anatomies” will linger in the minds of readers.