Dermont's short story collection 'Damage Control' bold and moving

Amber Dermont writes arresting sentences. That's the first thing that jumped out at me as I read her short story collection, “Damage Control” (St. Martin's Press, 294 pages, $23.99). In story after story, I would come across a sentence (often the first sentence of the tale) that would stop me cold.

From “Lyndon:” “My father died because our house was infested with ladybugs.” From the title story: “The twelve students in my Handshaking and Courteous Touching seminar are busy simulating an upscale charity gala when my cellphone chimes and interrupts their formal meet and greet.” From “Stella in the Winter Palace:” “The wet tail of the wig fluttered once, then disappeared.”

But whip cracking sentences - even when delivered with startling frequency - do not successful stories make. In fact, they might provide a kind of cover for a writer who isn't as strong in other areas.

Dermont, however, has much more to offer. These 14 stories are quirky, charming, surprising and resonant. The people we meet, who are often damaged and frequently making bad choices, are engaging company. Dermont, an alumna of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, takes us inside an array of odd situations - a party for rich folks featuring a Connect Four tournament, a swank gathering centered on a doomed stingray, a cruise ship in distress - and introduces us to characters struggling to make the best of things, just as we do in our more mundane lives.

In “Assembling the Troops,” she takes things a step further, telling us “You are Danny Riley.” In a series of vignettes, we experience a life gone wrong. It's a bold, moving story - just one of many such pieces in “Damage Control.”

What: Amber Dermont reads from “Damage Control”

Where: Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Cost: Free