Richard Scharine

The Past We Step Into by Richard Scharine discusses the daily life and struggles of a couple as they love together, live together, and build a family against the backdrop of rapid modernity in America. The work opens with the narrator reminiscing about past generations and how his ancestors migrated from Ireland to the USA for a fresh start. From there onward, each story gives us a glimpse into the lives of different characters and how they deal with the chaos that life throws at them over the years. Our narrator stays at the forefront of the story to share how each moment can lie heavy on one's heart, shaping and changing us for the times yet to come. The Past We Step Into can be explored as a collection of twelve interconnected short stories, each one teaching a life lesson. While the pace of the story can be a little slow at times, the narrative is far from boring. I love that our narrator for the first few stories was nameless, yet we knew the names of every significant person in his life. His father was quite a character, but my favorite was Great-Aunt Alma. She was an incredibly sassy character, and her dialogues were fantastically sarcastic yet so on point. Rik was a close second. What I loved most about this collection was how author Richard Scharine depicted life in all its natural glory. Neither grief nor happiness overpowers anything, keeping life in balance. Each of the emotions and upheavals in the lives of the characters was as realistic as possible.

The Past We Step Into is a novel of life, mostly during the last four decades of the 20th century, whose content comes back to the author/character's memory in pieces and then rebuilt like a mosaic. In the reconstruction the result is fascinating and always absorbing. The writing often reaches into the realm of poetic prose. I have always admired a writer who knew how handle detail in the narrative; not too much, not too little and always relevant. Here is a fine example! The personal and public lives of the main characters is skillfully integrated and the language is rich in subtle irony, wry humor and an occasional touch of mysticism. The cultural, historical and literary references are many, but the author shines enough light on them so that the book is enjoyable to a reader who did not live through the era as much as one (like me) who did.

The Past We Step Into is a collection of short stories that gradually coalesce into the portrait of a remarkable marriage spanning an equally remarkable period of social change in North America. Framed by courtship and death, the events cover love, infidelity, careers, social unrest, travel, children and loss, primarily from the point of view of the main character, Rik. By his side throughout most of the book, providing direction, stability, and companionship, is the character, Lynne, his wife. Late in the book, a character asks her, "Do you really think he could have become a distinguished university professor, a scholar, an artist, unless you imagined that he could?" It is no coincidence that Dr. Scharine has dedicated this book to his own late wife, Marilyn Hunt Scharine. Based on both true and imagined events, as well as upon dreams, Scharine recounts the events in this book artfully, often ending each story with theatrical imagery and metaphor. Peppered throughout the stories are the lyrics of songs that were popular at the time, songs providing commentary on the events as if by an absent Greek chorus. In the same vein, Scharine plays with a theme of fate vs. personal responsibility in a story that mixes theatre history (the theatre of Seneca vs. that of Sophocles) and infidelity. Less successful, however, is the end of a story that intersperses political events with quotes from a theatrical production of Danton on the Kaw. It ends with a melodrama of grief expressed in song form that distances us from the very real shock and grief that the action inspires. But do not let this deter you from experiencing the very real emotions and moving events of the stories in this book. Scharine is best at conveying emotion when he does so without artifice or pedantry. In the beginning stories I encountered a life ruled by aimlessness, subject to fate and accident. As the book progressed, however, I found myself moved to tears by the triumphs and losses experienced during remarkable lives that were shaped by personal choices.

"Continuing for twelve interconnecting stories, the narrator takes our hands and we walk with a young couple through some of the most colorful times this world has ever seen. From political changes and upheavals to sexual revolutions to the rise of Civil Rights, and bringing children into the world, Scharine showed it all to us. Self-discovery was occurring on a daily basis, but even when emotions ran deep, there was no “overkill” of grief or pain—the author kept it all balanced perfectly throughout the entire journey. I was riveted to learn more about the Arts, Hiroshima in ‘64 – everything I thought I knew a ton about, I became even more interested when seeing the subjects through the points of view told here. I also loved watching the world unfold across a time period I wasn’t even alive for, to a time period now that involves “virtual” technology and “falling in love” over the Internet."

"Each tale both captures a microcosm of experience and represents another step forward in time and place. The Past We Step Into's literary memoir format will attract audiences interested in family narratives, but will prove especially intriguing to those interested in genealogical research and the foundations of belief systems and experiences. Libraries strong in literary short stories that capture slices of life and family connections alike will find The Past We Step Into appealing to a wide audience, from literature students to general-interest readers who appreciate family sagas and life-changing experiences."