MEXICO is an unforgettable collection of short stories, from its haunting and enigmatic cover (which does exactly what a book cover should do) to the equally haunting closing sentences of “The Escape from Mexico,” a tale of a mother’s sacrifice in legally immigrating from Mexico to the United States.

With this, his second collection, author Josh Barkan has gathered his stories around a common theme, given that they all take place in or around Mexico City. The protagonists of many of them are not unlike Barkan, an American by birth who resides in Mexico on a part-time basis. That may well be one element that provides a stark ring of truth to each and every story within its binding. Hopefully, Barkan did not experience any of the events that take place here; sadly, someone almost certainly did.

"By turns frightening, somber and, yes, occasionally uplifting, this is a collection to be read and reread."

The stories in MEXICO speak with many different voices. A high school teacher in “The God of Common Names” attempts to save the lives of two of his students whose romantic assignations have put them in the middle of a crossfire between two drug cartels. “The Kidnapping” is told through the voice of an artist who is kidnapped off the street in Mexico City and subjected to senseless violence, yet somehow manages to achieve an epiphany. An incarceration of another sort is the theme of “The Prison Breakout,” in which a man risks everything he has in order to rescue another man accused of a robbery and murder he did not commit.

Meanwhile, in “The American Journalist,” a story with a chance reference comes back to haunt a reporter in the worst way when he becomes the object of the wrath of a local, corrupt and somewhat insane politician as a result. The shifting sides of law enforcement are highlighted in “The Sharpshooter,” in which a skilled sniper finds his beliefs challenged by a betrayal and an official order that he feels he cannot, and should not, carry out.

My favorite story, after some consideration, is “The Chef and El Chapo.” Here, a gourmet restaurant is subjected to a visit from a notorious cartel leader, who gives the chef an almost impossible task in the form of an ultimatum. Some parts of the story (as with many in this collection) are cringe-inducing, though only momentarily. It is almost a parable in its way, yet it can be appreciated on its own merits without digging too deeply into the substrata of its meaning. “I Want to Live” is a close second. A woman, contemplating radical surgery as a potential lifesaving measure, encounters another patient whose beauty she envies. The story that is subsequently told results in a fateful decision as well as a revelation that echoes throughout the rest of the book.

I am seeing an increasing number of short story collections of late, which I hope will encourage more potential readers, perhaps put off by the time commitment that a full-length novel demands, to come back to the bookstores and libraries. MEXICO would certainly be a place for them to begin. By turns frightening, somber and, yes, occasionally uplifting, this is a collection to be read and reread.