via Booklist online
Three Versions of the Truth.
Brown, Amy Knox (author).
Sept. 2007. 226p. Press 53, paperback, $16 (9780979304934).
REVIEW. First published August, 2007 (Booklist).

As its title suggests, the duplicitous nature of relationships-with lovers, family, friends, but most importantly, with one's own inner demons-is explored in all its tangled perplexity in Brown's vibrant debut collection of short stories set in her native Nebraska. As level on the page as the quintessential Great Plains landscape, Brown nonetheless reveals the dramatic peaks and valleys hidden within the interior terrain of her striking cast of everyday characters. From the college professor whose career takes a nosedive only to be saved by the publication of an ersatz self-help book in "Dr. Faustus in Lincoln" to the young woman contemplating the loss of a girlhood friendship in "Why We Are the Way We Are," Brown's protagonists are a preternaturally introspective lot, but their philosophical meditations make for revelatory reading. With fictional interludes of historical significance sprinkled throughout the collection like palate-cleansing dollops of sorbet, Brown serves up a savory homage to the place she calls home and to its myriad inhabitants. 
            — Carol Haggas 

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