Life Will Get You in the End: Short Stories by David Satterlee

Short stories by David Satterlee. “[His writing is] humorous, bold, and adventurous all at once … channeled through a facility for language and the music of words.”

Each story is short and sweet – or sometimes bittersweet – or just thought-provoking. There is often a surprise concluding twist that will "get you in the end." A gifted wordsmith, his range will surprise you.

Very human stories explore the extremes of life, loss, and love. David gives a stream-of-thought treatment to a love story involving elder-care; he presents a tale of xenophobic bullying in precise "Dr. Seuss" cadences; he explores gender relations and writes love poems. His engineering background provides technical credibility that will delight fans of hard science fiction.

David has a dry and sly sense of humor that enjoys irony, bad puns, and tongue-in-cheek allusions. He introduces several recurring iconic characters to watch for. Bobby is a bad boy; he is immature and usually gets it in the end, one way or another. Fergus Johnson explores gender relations; he is emotionally intelligent and usually knows how to live with women.

While avoiding being vulgar or salacious, a few stories treat on grown-up themes. A poem about the war in Vietnam contains disturbing images and profanity. Several stories allude to intimate moments or contain mild expletives. In a short play for two voices, a radio personality is deliberately crude; we are not amused.

In the front matter, David predicts: "I’ll bet that you will sometimes read a story again right away. I guarantee that you will come back to some of your favorites over and over… and recommend them to your friends."