Like a Champion

LOCAL AUTHOR

In Like a Champion, Vincent Chu gives you a brief glimpse into real life with eighteen different short stories. Only two of them feature the same character. Most of the stories are written from one character’s point of view, but sometimes the storytelling method differs. Some are written as journal entries and even as private messages written between two people. All of the stories are about people, though, and what it’s like to be somewhat of an underdog. These stories are about those people that we tend to forget are even there—the ones who don’t stand out, but are still people all the same.

Even though these stories aren’t written for a newspaper, and were originally for different magazines, I think a genre that might fit them is fictional human interest. These short stories are pictures of what everyday life can be like. One story is just about what a woman is thinking while she is in a barroom bathroom. Another is about a couple that goes to a dinner party and makes a dish that gives the others food poisoning, but it is also deeper than that. It tells about what they are going through as a couple and the symbolism of that dish.

The stories are both realistic and relatable—even the somewhat far-fetched ones. I think my favorite story was the one on the cruise ship. I liked the sarcasm in that one. Every story has this feeling of meeting someone new. Each gives a brief glimpse into their life and something that happened to them. Not necessarily anything huge, but something that had meaning to them and how they see the world. The stories are pretty clean with minimal language. Overall, I enjoyed the different writing styles and I think you will enjoy this collection if you are a fan of short stories.