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I’m a big fan of John RC Potter’s writing, so I was excited to open his recent novella, The General Store at Four Corners. It’s one of three pieces featured in Body Lines, an annual journal published by Subtle Body Press.

I was not disappointed!

This is a tale of lust, betrayal, and violence set in the small fictional village of Four Corners, Ontario. Its timeframe jumps back and forth through a 20-year period between 1914 and 1934, but the transitions are never jarring. Potter weaves each episode into the narrative seamlessly. As usual, his eye for locale is superb. The General Store at the heart of the story, the surrounding farms, and the annual carnival all come vividly to life against a backdrop of historical events from that era.

But the real strength of this story is its cast of colorful characters. Among them are:

• Jewel Cotton, raising her brood of children in hardscrabble poverty while enduring the violence of her alcoholic husband.
• Hilda Judges, with her smug know-it-all attitude.
• Mr. Burnbridges, the good-natured store owner oblivious to cuckolding.
• Al Heidler, the mysterious and virile young man who drifts into the Burnbridges’ life, setting up a fated chain of consequences.
• Mrs. Sharp, the fortune teller whose prognostication is tragically accurate.

At the center of it all is the main character, Beulah Burnbridges. I would be lying if I said there is anything likeable about her. With a naturalistic perspective that recalls Émile Zola or Theodore Dreiser, Potter examines every painful, deterministic force that shapes Beulah’s life. The violence of her nuclear family, her lust, her use of sex as a tool to achieve her limited social climbing—all these get examined under a clinical microscope.

I don’t intend a spoiler here, but near the climax of this saga, Beulah emits a primal shriek. She thinks it is audible until she realizes she is hearing it only in her head, an anguish that emanates from all the pain and struggle stored within her soul. Think of Munch’s The Scream.

The Epilogue of this tale is chilling, even fitting, but it is Beulah’s noiseless cry that rose off the page into my ears. I won’t forget it.

To purchase:
https://subtlebodypress.com/store/p/bodylines

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Krin Van Tatenhove is an author, visual artist, and spiritual adventurer. He has worked as a cleric, community organizer, and director of a nonprofit. His 40 years of professional writing experience have led to countless articles and 19 books. You can freely download most of his words and images by visiting krinvan.com. You can also visit his Amazon Author’s page. In addition to his creative pursuits, Krin suffers from chronic wanderlust, always seeking new travel experiences to satisfy his gypsy soul. He is married, has four children, and lives with his wife and disabled adult son in San Antonio, Texas.