Short Stories Books

Some of the content may be difficult to classify as entertainment. That said, this is an insightful and profound read worth every second spent with this collection of short stories.

A collection of short stories that combine great writing and thought provoking ideas. A unique exploration that leaves the reader still immersed in the stories themes long after having put the book down. There is a reality of truth that flows through the stories which are at times beyond belief. This is made possible by the universal themes of domination, pride and others. A great read that gets the highest recommendation.

This book was amazingly emotionally compact. It was a mental rollercoaster. Having a wide range of intense and disturbing explicit stories that read deeper than the number of pages. Never boring.

If the title of this book suggests to you a series of essays with a clear moral or other sound ponderings which will move you to make some activist stand, you're mistaken.

It is, however, a book that will return you to the days of hiding under the covers, flashlight in hand, reading things you ought not to. Only this time, you wish your mother would walk in & catch you, so you would stop. She's right, this stuff will give you nightmares.

With taboo topics such as incest, rape & slaughter, you'll feel that if anyone were to see you reading this material, you'd deserve nothing less than a spanking & a weekend grounded to your room. And the grounding would be the worst part ~ This book makes you wish you were in a place full of people & distractions so you would have an easy way to avoid the images & feelings in your head. Then again, it may make you wonder about all the people around you, and what stories they could tell. Maybe you're better off at home, alone, after all...

If this sounds like I hated the book, think again ~ I just interviewed the author!

(Consensed Review)

Perverse. There's a 'Clockwork Orange' sense of forced exposure here, leaving the reader feeling something like a violent loss of innocence upon finishing the book. Poignant and sharp throughout: writing elegant, the voice unassuming and without affectation -- a difficult feat carried off rather marvelously. Dominant to most of the stories is a feeling of helplessness, sexual and otherwise (don't miss "The Space Between Us" or "Mercy Killer II"), and while there is tenderness and a loving touch here as well, they're reserved for the characters of purity -- all animals (in one case, a fur coat).

A unique combination of themes. As soon as I finished reading I started looking for more by this author. Highest recommendation.

Great start to a funny series, would live to see this on tv. Three sisters all different from each other and its the quiet one, curvy one that gets the handsome rich guy. I give this 4.5 stars, would be 5 but I tend to roll my eyes at romances that takes place in a few weeks too unrealistic for me to handle lol. Plus would be nice if the permed or weaved hair was not described as if its a badge honour. Writers, most AA /black women have very curly hair naturally growing out of their scalps, some even have short afros lets celebrate this African beauty and stop trying to look like Caucasians...

Tamara Sneed does it again with the next installment of the Sibley sisters! Of course the three sisters, Kendra, Charlie, and Quinn (introduced in At First Sight) find themselves in Sibleyville, CA to celebrate Christmas. Kendra is the athletic opinionated New Yorker, while Charlie is the gentle/compassionate middle sister. This story is about Quinn, who comes across as the superficial Hollywood actress initially. Only Ms. Sneed could pull off an incredible love story with two characters who couldn't be more mismatched (but looks are deceiving indeed). Wyatt was introduced as Graham's bestfriend in At First Sight.

Since the other reviewers gave great summaries, I'm writing from a different perspective. What makes Ms. Sneed stand out as a writer is her unique sense of humor and ability to make the most unusual circumstances seem normal. When I read the plot summary on the back of this one I kept wondering how she was going to make this story believable, but she's gifted. I initially thought Wyatt and Quinn were flat secondary characters in At First Sight (though I enjoyed the story). I didn't think I would be able to like Quinn or find Wyatt appealing in their own story. in which they'd be center stage. However, I couldn't have been more wrong. Ms. Sneed makes them real and their love undeniable. This is a heartwarming story that will make you laugh and love. I can't wait for Kendra's story!

First book she's come out with in almost 2 years, and let me just say girlfriend hasn't forgotten how to write. Same lovable hilarious kinds of characters that she's known for. I especially liked the fact that the heroine of the book was not tall and thin like every other woman in every other romance novel I've ever read. Kudos to Ms. Sneed.

This book was really good. It was basically about 3 sisters who really weren't all that close, but as a condition of their grandfather's will had to live together for 2 weeks in his old house in order to inherit his money which they thought would be millions. Kendra and Quinn fought most of the time, but Charlie the middle sister tried to keep the peace as much as possible. Charlie is also the one that eventually caught Grant's eye...her sister's never thought she had a chance at all with Grant. Grant really wasn't all that into Charlie either until he statred spending time with her and gettting to know her...then he just fell in love with her.

I look forward to Tamara Sneed's next book which I hope will be about Quinn and Grant's best friend Wyatt. Their story would be very interesting. I think perhaps something happened between them that of course was never mentioned in this book, but kept you wondering why they were so uncomfortable around each other at times. We shall see...I hope.

If you don't have this book...buy it...it's worth it.

Set in the small town of Sibleyville, California, with a population if fifteen thousand, we enter the world of the Sibley sisters. Kendra, the oldest, is a Wall Street whiz kid; Charlie, the middle sister, has a Master's Degree in Art History; and last but not least is Quinn, the baby of the family, a television mega star. Three sisters, as different as night and day in every way, from employment, to personality, styles and beliefs.

They have not seen or spent time with each other in years. They are now forced to live together because of their grandfather's will, praying to inherit what they are hoping are millions, for their own individual reasons. One sister wants to start her own business, another has been fired from her job. The third trusted the wrong man. Kendra, Quinn, and Charlie feel as if the two weeks they spend together are an eternity. Their emotions run the gamut from humor to sorrow. Unfortunately, Charlie is stuck in the middle trying to be the peacekeeper.

AT FIRST SIGHT, written by Tamara Sneed, is a wonderful story of forgiveness. Sneed allowed us to laugh, cry, and feel pain and disappointment. She also tossed in a few handsome men, which turned AT FIRST SIGHT into a real party. In future books I hope we hear more from the secondary characters.

Reviewed by Toni Bonita
for The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I bought this volume of stories simply to get a copy of Fitzgerald's "May Day" which I'd read in one of my college texts and then could not find for years. I have always felt that "May Day" would make a superb film--and the screenwriter could lift most of the dialogue right out of the story. It is that good and simple and dramatic. Actually every one of the stories in this collection is first rate. Here is Fitzgerald, only in his 20's, writing of American aspirations before, during and after World War I. And no one wrote about this subject better than he did. The characters are rich and complex, all of them dissatisfied with the bones that life has thrown them, all of them desiring what others have. The reader sees their foibles and loves them anyway. These are not perfect people. They are real people in a time of trouble--fighting, most of them, simply to stay afloat in a world changing faster than anyone would have thought possible. I cannot recommend these brilliant stories highly enough. There is also a brief life and appreciation of Fitzgerald in this lovely Scribner edition.

The literary voice of the ninteen-twenties' "Jazz Age," F. Scott Fitzgerald was out of step with the grimmer thirties. Facing his wife's insanity, increasing alcoholism, and his own obsolesence as a writer, the stories collected here show Fitzgerald facing his demons in bracingly honest prose. If "Crazy Sunday" and the other tales of the adventures of Pat Hobby, down-and-out screenwriter, feel a bit like autobiographical wallow, and "Family In The Wind," about a doctor in the midst of a country tornado, is an interesting if uncharacteristic journey into Steinbeck country, it's the title story of the collection that's worth the price of admission.
Charlie Wales is an ex-broker, returned to Paris after all the good times have gone, with only the goal of regaining custody of his daughter after the death of his wife. A thinly veiled take on Fitzgerald's own troubled relations with daughter Scottie after wife Zelda's madness, it's at once a suspenseful, moving, and lyrical story. All his powers are at work here, as if he knew this was his last shot at literary immortality, and he was just about right.

The Book of Revelations in the New Testament is the most likely source from which F. Scott Fitzgerald draws his "Babylon Revisited". In Revelations, Babylon the Great (also an ancient Near Eastern city of materialism and sexual excess) is the `mother of whores' and the source of all evil in the Roman Empire. She is said to have been defeated by God and judged for her excessive sin. Upon her destruction, the saints rejoice while the merchants and hedonistic pleasure seekers morn. Symbolism abounds in this revision of the timeless tale and the choice of Fitzgerald's title could not be more appropriate.

Charlie himself is the regeneration of Babylon. During the economic boom of the 20's, Charlie and his wife lived life to its fullest and most shallow degree. They partied until sunup. They squandered wealth. We even get the impression that there was a significant amount of infidelity existing on both sides. As with Babylon, Charlie is punished: The stock market crash in 1929 liberates him of a fortune, "his child [is] taken from his control, [and] his wife escaped to a grave in Vermont."

As with Babylon, Charlie's fall had its rejoicers and mourners. Marion, his wife's bereaved sister, saw Charlie's fall as an opportunity to gain control of his child, and with sincere intentions rid her family of the sinner. Though she doesn't expressly rejoice in her brother-in-laws demise, she does blame him for her sister's death and understands why his life has turned out askew. Duncan and Lorraine, on the other hand, mourned the loss of their sinister partner in indulgence.

This story is complete with all of the historic reference and symbolism that has come to define F. Scott Fitzgerald. What a fantastic, unbelievably creative writer. It's amazing how timeless his writings are, and "Babylon Revisited" is the perfect example of that fact. It really makes you think about your own life.

The king of the 1920's Lit World wrote short stories for big money in Scribner's Magazine, Collier's, Esquire, and Saturday Evening Post. His first novel made him famous, This Side of Paradise, but his subsequent novels including The Great Gatsby sold meagerly. Zelda and Scott went through dough like drunken sailors, so Scott wrote short stories for a quick buck. This group of stories is among his best and though some or all were written commercially, Scott's talent was so huge that they rival his chief competitor's: Hemingway, Parker, Anderson, and Larder in charm and precision.

Above all, Fitzgerald is charming. The drunken rich boys of May Day are close to the authors experience and poignantly revealing. Scott was the son of a failed businessman. His mother's family was well to do and Scott associated with rich beauties that seemed always just beyond a snow covered golf course as in Winter Dreams. His experience with his future wife, Zelda Sear, an Alabama debutante is cloaked in fantasy in Ice Palace. Surely newlyweds are surprised to find they have married strangers. In that there is no secret, but Fitzgerald gives his bride a hysterical nightmare in a St Paul carnival ice maze. The reader loves Sally Carrol and is genuinely caught up in her dilemma of Minnesota in-laws and a suddenly stern husband.

Fitzgerald was a dreamer and The Diamond As Big As the Ritz is a parable about a family so rich, and so self-centered in their luxuries, they murder their guests less the secret of the their wealth be known. In an era where a million dollars could buy a country, Fitzgerald's fascination with success and the rich permeates his work.

F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of our greatest writers. He is best known today for his many wonderful novels, especially The Great Gatsby. As time has passed, his marvelous magazine stories have faded from sight . . . even though those were more widely read than his novels when they were written.

In Babylon Revisited: And Other Stories you will deepen your understanding of the novels . . . and of their author in these often semi-autobiographical tales. The best stories have as much impact as any of the novels in a spare exposition that adds to their power.

Each story deals with the same general theme: We live on hope which is based on illusions about reality. When faced with reality, we happily escape into new hopes based on different illusions. We are sort of like Peter Pan: We don't want to grow up.

The theme comes across with startling persuasiveness as Fitzgerald unpeels the many forms of hopeful illusions that will seem familiar to every reader.

The stories build chronologically across the backdrop of the United States after World War I in the 20's and 30's. That shift in authorship times also inadvertently adds the drama of seeing how the psychology of the young and educated changed as American went from mindless boom to seemingly unending bust.

Fitzgerald has a rich imagination to makes his world open up for readers so that you can feel both the physical sensations and the emotions of the characters . . . and become the characters while you are reading.

The stories themselves have that delightful quality of exaggeration that makes his points indelible.

The Ice Palace explores a Southern beauty's pursuit of an advantageous marriage in the frozen tundra of Minnesota in winter. May Day recounts the pursuit of pleasure and accomplishment by those of various social classes and beliefs. The Diamond as Big as the Ritz is a wild tale of a mythical place and the consequences of unlimited wealth. Winter Dreams deals with the painful consequences of acting on the illusions of romantic love. Absolution is an amazing story about how we can carelessly end up being untrue to God and ourselves. The Rich Boy considers how being rich and powerful can get in the way of being close to others. The Freshest Boy looks at being an awkward teenage boy and how he came to make peace with the world. Babylon Revisited shows how our mistakes can come home to roost after we believe we are invulnerable. Crazy Sunday is an astonishing look at the psychology of how we connect to one another through others. The Long Way Out is about a woman who suffers from a mental collapse and is now ready to return to her husband . . . when fate steps in.

My favorite stories in the book are May Day, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, The Freshest Boy, Babylon Revisited and Crazy Sunday.

If you haven't read these stories before, you have a great treat ahead of you. If you can find a copy of George Guidall's narration for Recorded Books, your pleasure will be even greater.

i remember this book, i was about 12 yrs old when i ran across it in the public library. the cover of the book caught my attention and man... the pictures in the book were even better. i was reading the other reviews and just like everyone else, the story of the patchwork monkey stood out the most, i vaguely remember the one about the chicken. the images of this book will definately stick with you. for the life of me i couldnt remember the entire name of this book, all i could remember was eerie creatures. i told my 13yr old son about this book which i thought he would probably get a kick out of it. this book in my opinion is the best scary childrens book published... steven king eat your heart out.

i read this book when I was in 2d grade, when my brother in 5th grade brought it home from the library. I read the patchwork monkey, and it scared the heck out of me!! and that picture of the monkey. EWWW! I was searching online for several days to figure out the name of this book. (Patchwork monkey kept sending me to crafts sites). Any a fantastic book, very scary. Would love to get a copy (used are a bit pricey) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REPUBLISH AN ANNIVERSARY EDITION!

i read this book when I was in 2d grade, when my brother in 5th grade brought it home from the library. I read the patchwork monkey, and it scared the heck out of me!! and that picture of the monkey. EWWW! I was searching online for several days to figure out the name of this book. (Patchwork monkey kept sending me to crafts sites). Anyway, a fantastic book, very scary. Would love to get a copy (used are a bit pricey) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REPUBLISH AN ANNIVERSARY EDITION!

UPDATE: Check out the-haunted-closet.blogspot for more images and information about the Patchwork Monkey.
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A short collection of horror stories for children, beautifully illustrated by the great Rod Ruth, probably best known for his magnificent work in the "Album of..." series (Album of Dinosaurs, Album of Sharks, Album of Whales, etc.)


There are nine stories contained here, yet the one that seems to have had the most impact on young readers is the first, "The Patchwork Monkey", by Beverly Butler.

And rightfully so. Many of the other stories are fantastic, some truly science fiction, but "The Patchwork Monkey" dwells in a world any child can relate too... an annoying sibling, an adult who plays favorites, an evening at home alone while the parents are out, and a creepy doll that excites the imagination.

Even though the scares hit home, I doubt most readers caught all the nuances of this story as a child. I know I didn't:

Molly being scolded by her mother for watching a "witch" television program; Molly spinning the story of Mrs. Welles and her parasitic doll Patches seemingly out of nowhere, then pondering that Mrs. Welles had communicated that information to her through "vibrations"; the fact that Mrs. Welles gave the murderous doll not to Molly, but to the "favored" brother Jason; and how ultimately the doll actually BECOMES the brother for a brief instant...

It's too bad this book has become a rare artifact instead of a common offering on store shelves. It's also too bad no one has had the insight to develop this story as a short film or even an animated piece.

I FINALLY found a copy of this on ebay. Keep looking, and eventually you can catch one for less than $100.

I read "The Patchwork Monkey" when I was 7, and slept with my parents for a month. It scared me so bad that my mom had the librarian get rid of the book. We've spent the past 2 years trying to track down an affordable copy, and now that I have it, it's everything I remember it to be. Doesn't really *scare* me now, but is still pretty creepy. I count this book as my inspiration to be a writer. I can only hope that one day I can do to some other kid what this book did to me.

This is a very sensitively written and complex story about two people - written in stellar prose.

This Dover edition - titled The Beast in the Jungle and Other Stories - provides three short stories that are among the finest of their genre, although defining the genre itself is not without difficulty. Only The Jolly Corner might be classed a ghost story. These superb studies of obsession might be best described as nuanced, subtle, and intellectually haunting, and are among the best short works of Henry James.

The Alter of the Dead (1895): George Stransom "had perhaps not more losses than most men, but he counted his losses more: he hadn't seen death more closely, but had in a manner felt it more deeply."

The Beast in the Jungle (1903): John Marcher had from his earliest time, deep within him, "the sense of being kept for something rare and strange, possibly prodigious and terrible, that was sooner or later to happen" and he had in his bones the foreboding and conviction that it might overwhelm him. Despite its suspense and deep sense of despair, this classic tale has been described as sluggish and overly ornate. Be that as it may, this foreboding tale is memorable.

The Jolly Corner (1908): Returning after decades in Europe to his vacant, empty home in New York, Spencer Brydon would in the gathering dusk "wander and wait, linger and listen, feel his fine attention, never in his life so fine, on the pulse of the great vague place: he preferred the lampless hour and only wished he might have prolonged each day the deep crepuscular spell."

I have read this collection on three, perhaps four occasions. The works of Henry James, like that of William Faulkner, continue to improve with subsequent readings, undoubtedly the mark of great literature. For the reader unfamiliar with the writings of Henry James, this little collection would be an excellent introduction to his challenging prose. I highly recommend this Dover edition.

In this basically two person novella, John Marcher, believes that something, not necessarily wonderful, maybe even terrible-but something-would eventually spring on him unawares, like a beast in the jungle, and ultimately determine his fate. May Bartram, his friend throughout these many years, agrees to wait with Marcher to observe his destiny.

_The Beast in the Jungle_, in its quiet, psychologically incisive, and intimate way, is the tragedy of a man who is too passive, too timid, too self-absorbed and self-centered to attempt even in the slightest manner to take life in his own hands to shape his future. Marcher is certain that May Bartram can provide him with all the answers to the impending great event, but he only succeeds in slowly draining the life from her. May Bartram, patient and wise, is the true hero of the piece. It is only at the end that the truth is revealed to Marcher. The jungle finally becomes empty, and poor pitiful, ineffectual John Marcher never even witnessed it.

I have never read Henry James before because I have always been told that he is not worth reading. My own teachers have told me that, but they obviously didn't read like I do because I found this story nothing but delightful. Henry James faintly resembles the writing of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. I see the resemblance in James' use of detail, not only in physical descriptions but also in the portrayals of capturing what is happening in the minds of his characters. This can be tedious if a reader is looking for plot, but my own conviction is that good fiction is driven by character, and anything that happens within a plot happens consequently to how characters act and/or think. "The Beast in the Jungle" revolves around only two characters and how their relationship and convictions affect each other's lives. The beauty in this story is the reality within it-a realization of time and how and what it should be spent on. James focuses on human relationships and shows the flaws that can occur within those relationships. John Marcher's selfishness, for instance, keeps him at a distance from May Bartram and her love for him: "Marcher had been visited by one of his occasional warnings against egotism. He had kept up, he felt . . . his consciousness of the importance of not being selfish". This selfishness, which Marcher believes he suppresses fairly well, is what turns out to be part of the Beast he is seeking; the selfishness is what keeps him from loving Mary Bartram simply because he wants her only for what she can do for him: ". . . he had never felt before, the growth of a dread of losing her by some catastrophe . . . that yet wouldn't at all be the catastrophe: partly because she had almost of a sudden begun to strike him as more useful to him than ever yet". I enjoyed "The Beast in the Jungle" so much because it took me into the mind of a person who grows throughout the story and learns something that perhaps every human being needs to learn throughout the course of his/her life. I don't find Henry James tiresome or dull at all; in fact, to myself of course, his writing is quite the contrary. I look forward to reading more of him.

Henry James' Beast in the Jungle is surely not for everyone, there is little action in the novella (I suppose that is the point actually) and the title could give readers the wrong idea. John Marcher, the protagonist, is re-aquainted with May Bartram, a woman he knew ten years earlier, who remembers his odd secret- Marcher is seized with the belief that his life is to be defined by some catastrophic or spectacular event, lying in wait for him like a "beast in the jungle."

May decides to take a flat nearby in London, and to spend her days with Marcher curiously awaiting what fate has in stall for John. Of course Marcher is a self-centered egoist, believing that he is precluded from marrying so that he does not subject his wife to his "spectacular fate". So he takes May to the theatre and invites her to an occasional dinner, while not allowing her to really get close to him for her own sake. As he sits idly by and allows the best years of his life to pass, he takes May down as well, until the denouement wherein he learns that the great misfortune of his life was to throw it away, and to ignore the love of a good woman, based upon his preposterous sense of foreboding.

James' language can be a bit stilted at times, and some of the dialogue may strike modern readers as out-dated. However James was a master of the novella format, and with The Beast in the Jungle he has written an engrossing psychological drama, which left me speechless at the very end. Pick up a collection that also includes The Turn of the Screw and Daisy Miller if you haven't already read them, they are accessible (more so than some of James' full length novels) and great examples of the format's potential.

What is a betrayal? It is when someone pretends to be a friend to another and uses the information against him/her as an enemy.
This is what happened to Laura throughout this book. The reader is introduced to Jonathan Corrigan, a CIA opperative, at the beginning who was using Laura to find out information about her father. Her brilliant computer genius father was handing over information to the enemy. When Jonathan gets to know Laura better, he doesn't like betraying her trust but must. He felt dirty. When Laura's parents went to prison, Jon helped Laura to changd identities and began a new life. She started up in Seattle area. Because she couldn't list all of her education to get a job, she had to begin temporary work. She was very discouraged when she was called in to fix an emergency on a big computer system. Word spread that she was good at fixing programing problems. Her business grew, as did curiousity about who she was. Nearly everyone who came in contact with her betrayed her one way or another. All but her Christian boss and the Christian community at large. Even Jonathan has deep regrets of what his actions had done to her two years before. He hopes he can know that she forgives him his duplicity. She is the only woman that he could become serious about. Jon and Laura come together again after she is rescued.
The rescue seemed a bit weak when compared to how Dee Henderson woule have handled it. This was the weakest point for me with theis book On the whole this was one book that was difficult to put down. I look forward to more works by these authors.

This book co-written by Rosey Dow & Andrew Snaden is great!
Action is the key word.....CIA agent Jonathan Corrigan finds his life turned upside down when he gets involved with Laura McIvor and her family. Her father is accused of selling missile systems to other world powers and planting a virus in them. Now everyone is after Laura as they think she has the code to fix the missile systems and every world power wants to be the one is charge. Now Jonathan is trying to keep Laura alive and in his arms. Both are learning to come to terms with God in all the life threatening ordeals they find themselves in.

You won't be disappointed with this book.

The other reviewers have given a good summary of the book but I wanted to add that they are right. The cover of the book got my attention and then I read the reviews. I started the book and oh my goodness, you are constantly wondering what will happen. I highly recommend this book it you like romance, suspense and just plain good writing. But like the others have said, set aside some time because it is hard to put down! It's a keeper.

This book co-written by Rosey Dow & Andrew Snaden is great!Action is the key word.....CIA agent Jonathan Corrigan found himself in a fix when he got involved with Laura McIvor and her family. Her father is accused of selling missile systems to other world powers and planting a virus in them. Now everyone is after Laura as they think she has the code to fix the missile systems and every world power wants to be the one is charge. Now Jonathan is trying to keep Laura alive and in his arms.

Betrayed is first rate suspense fiction, with just enough romance to appeal to the ladies, but not enough to discourage the men-folk!

Other reviews recapped the story, and the back cover copy is a great teaser. Time flies when reading the gripping, fast-paced story...you'll have to be careful you don't stay up too late trying to find out what happens next.

Plot twists and turns, believable dialogue and action sequences, visual humor, real characters, and a story of faith in action that's not preachy. What more can you want?!

Get one for your library, and make a gift of one to that friend or relative who loves to read as much as you do.

I can't wait for their next one!

If you enjoy good story telling, colorful characters and just plain fun. Buy this book. As a female living in high-desert country I really appreciate the every day facts L'amour weaves into his tales. Plus, I just really like Louis L'amour.

I started with Louis L'Amour when I was 13. I'm 50 now and he still gives me immense satisfaction. His books, all of them, grace my small home library and they are somewhat dog-eared from the many times I've re-read them. "Beyond" is a small compilation of short stories that are pure enterntainment and L'Amour at his best. He takes you to places you will probably never visit, introduces you to people and circumstances of intensity and all in the comfort of your favorite reading chair. I look forward to the promised release of several new works.

I am buried up to my nose in work but I had to come in and give my review on this one. These are great great stories, written by a man who believed in things he told you about and knows how to tell them good. I have not even completed the book, but oh man, it is so good... "By the waters of San Tadeo", "Beyond the great snow mountains", "Meeting at Fallmouth", "The money punch" and "The gravel Pit"...they will leave you to wonder at the versatile man who wrote them and the fact that he is known as a "great western writer" ? Western, my foot! He is a GREAT WRITER - Period ! And oh, for the fans of Jeffery Archer (I am one too) The Gravel Pit,The Money Punch and Meeting at Fallmouth will delight you for sure, although Louis always has his flavour in what ever he writes ( and I am glad of that) And for hard core louis fans - it has a Ward McQueen story too.

This review refers to "Beyond The Great Snow Mountains"(Short Story Collection) by Louis L'Amour.

L'Amour fans, this short story collection is fabulous. Ten captivating classic stories that will have you turning the pages, as fast as you can. Each story is a fresh new experience. Adventure, Mystery, Intrigue, Suspense, Action and even a little romance. The action takes place on land, in the air, and on the water. And yes, some Western adventure as well. The main characters and heroes are always charismatic. Some are even based on real life adventurers he knew.

L'Amour's own turn at being a miner and a boxer(as told in the Afterword by Beau L'Amour), is put to good use in some stories revolving around those subjects. The mining story "Under The Hanging Wall", is a suspense packed murder mystery, with all the usual suspects, and the action taking place in an abandoned and dangerous part of a mine. "The Money Punch" is the story of a young fighter with lessons to learn.

In "By the Waters of San Tadeo" and "Beyond the Great Snow Mountains", women are the main character and heroines of the stories. One has a woman trying to escape danger and the other a woman torn between the Tribe she has become a part of and a chance to go back to her home.

The stories range from 10 pages to 40 pages. And in that short time, L'Amour manages to tell great tales. Other works included are "Meeting at Falmouth", :Roundup In Texas", "Sideshow Champion", "Crash Landing", "Coast Patrol", and "The Gravel Pit". A Dedication, and Afterward by Beau L'Amour and a short informative, "About Louis L'Amour" is also included in the book.

I was delighted with every story in this collection. Louis L'Amour fans will love this one.

Enjoy....Laurie

It has been some time since I read BEYOUND THE GREAT SNOW MOUNTAINS, but I checked to see what I wrote on the first page of the book, something I always do when I finish one. This is what I found " some excellant stories" to be excellant in my opinion a story (or book) must have a good plot, good characters and get to the end without losing the reader. These stories I will read again and again.

Hi Huda,

I was really honoured to know you in person and seat with you in acafe in Damascus last summer. Actually what amazed me is your humble character and your imaginative mind. You have the potential and the capacity to be a great writer known worldwide. I promise you will have a very brilliant future. Keep writing and God may bless you.

The character Marc (or, Marco) drifts through Orfali's stories, bringing hope and compassion to often hopeless or brutal situations. Orfali is the real Marc, in that she gives a devastatingly honest view of life's cruelty, yet brings optimism to that view. However, she does so without giving easy, contrived solutions. She also does so with charming characters and believable dialogue.

Her poems range from depictions of her Syrian homeland to scenes from treasured myths and legends. My favorite of the poems is "Flip, Flop." The narrator of that poem forces us to consider the results of violence, who is to blame for it, and who can help stop it; yet the poem also manages to surprise the reader. For that matter, Orfali's work is a constant surprise.

Blue Fire is one of the most wonderful story books I've ever read. It deals with all aspects of our lives. I certainlly beneffited from the medical information. This new way of handlind illness and death is certainly interesting. death is just a "flight unto the sun", a new beginning. I wish the author good luck in future writing. I hope she will be more optimistic in her future writing.

Blue Fire is one of the most wonderful story books I've ever read. It deals with all aspects of our lives. I certainlly beneffited from the medical information. This new way of handlind illness and death is certainly interesting. death is just a "flight unto the sun", a new beginning. I wish the author good luck in future writing. I hope she will be more optimistic in her future writing.

Excellent Work. Orfali is a great storyteller. HOLLYWOOD-take a look at this book! What wonderful movies it could make! I highly recommend Blue Fire to anyone looking for a good story. I hope to see more from Orfali.

Boy Meets Girl: A Pocketful of Wedding Stories

Zara Stevens's Boy Meets Girl is a unique and, I think, valuable addition to the pre-marriage literature for young women. As with the book's protagonist, Sophie, Boy Meets Girl could relieve the anxiety of a bride-to-be (or groom, for that matter) by putting the nature of weddings into perspective. More positively, the book's wedding stories could contribute to the romance, ceremony, and anticipation of the affair.

Sophie is contemplating her imminent wedding and concludes: "Weddings are just our way of making sex more respectable." This is her defense against the frustration of preparing her own wedding and fear that it might not turn out as she wants.

Sophie has, in six years working for the U.N., made good friends with young women from around the world. At her "Hen's Night" (Stevens is Australian--in the U.S. this would be the bachelorette party), Sophie's friends tell the stories of their own weddings. Told in third person and presented as short stories, these vignettes accomplish two major purposes in addition to the ones mentioned above.

First, they convey information about the wedding customs of India, Vietnam, Mexico, Italy, Iran, Kenya, and Japan. Interesting as this is, it would still be pretty dry if presented as plain exposition. Stevens, however, makes the information an integral part of the stories, and it's the stories themselves that immediately become the source of interest.
One quickly becomes involved in the tale of Ashna's, who despite having a successful career as a modern Indian woman, at twenty-five is an embarrassment to her family, who pressure her into an arranged marriage. The tension of this arrangement turns the reader's thoughts to the nature of marriage and how it ought to be.

The stories continue, some of them joyous, some of them tragic. The one from Kenya, which begins with the fourteen year-old bride-to-be undergoing female circumcision to prepare her for her marriage, is guaranteed to provoke a strong reaction and some serious thought.
The writing, here, is simple. The stories are allowed to tell themselves without a lot of floridity or intervention of author's opinion, and the wedding information fits seamlessly into the narrative. The combination works well. The reader becomes easily involved in the women's stories, but not so much so that she can't quickly switch back and compare it to her own story.

The one caveat I have with Boy Meets Girl is that while it purports to be about weddings, it strays implicitly into the idea and nature of marriage. This could be a bit confusing. Though weddings often are reflections of the principals' idea of marriage, they certainly aren't always in the U.S., and I'm sure this is true around the world. The good thing is that Boy Meets Girl ought to get readers thinking about both.

After reading Zara Stevens, Boy Meets Girl, A Pocketful of Wedding Stories, I am very proud for my first review to be this book!

It is many wonderful stories of eight friends and their individual wedding experiences. Some beyond beautiful, almost like a faery tale, some very sad, but all in their own very unique traditions of the countries they are from!

First the book begins with a girl named Sophie, an Administrative Consultant for the UN, who is in the process of planning her own wedding, then in turn tells the very different individual stories of her 7 friends (Ashna from India, Mai from Vietnam, Lucia from Mexico, Antonia from Italy, Aliyeh from Iran, Kanida from Kenya and Mayu from Japan) weddings. She ends the book back at Sophie's Wedding, which I felt made a very nice closure to the book!

You will find parts where you want to laugh out loud and other times that may bring tears to your eyes from the sadness, but most of all you will see all of the similarities to our own traditions, and the very different traditions of many countries that we have trouble understanding.

I must praise Zara Stevens's unique and very detailed way of bringing these eight women to life, so that we are able to feel that we are right there and a part of the festivities!
Great book Zara, I enjoyed it very much and highly recommend it !


Deborah Lorraine Olsen

I have just enjoyed a most poignant account of meetings, love and marriage in several cultures. How clever the author has been to capture such feelings and relate them with such insight within short stories...I have purchased 3 more copies to include with wedding presents for family and friends. Looking forward to the next book by Zara Stevens....Pamela

If you have yet to read something by Zara Stevens it's high time you did. In Boy Meets Girl, she'll evoke emotions you'd thought had long since become defunct.

The book is comprised of several short stories. Stevens begins by introducing us to Sophie on the evening of her "Hen Party" prior to her wedding, then enchants us with tales of seven of Sophie's closest friends, and how each of them reached the pinnacle of holy matrimony.

These stories will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you truly understand the bond that comes from women sharing their deepest feelings.

This would make a fun and unique gift for a bridal shower! (After all, just how many toasters will one bride need?) Wrap it up in a gift basket with a bottle of wine or champagne and a duo of fancy flutes. Yours will be the best loved gift at the party!

Zara has a gift for story telling and a gift for understanding other cultures. I really enjoy the way she makes me understand other points of view from around the world and I am a sucker for a happy ending. I think she has captured the joys and fears that seem to go with all the weddings around the world. It is both informative and moving.

Thank you Zara

I finished "Breaking Even" by Alejandro Grattan Dominguez last night.
Rather than comment on the author's literary genius, which would take me a page or two, allow me to sum it up:

This book should be required reading in every High School in the USA. Too many kids have been abandoned. The book should at least be in every High School and Public Library

The one single message that screams out in this book, is this:
"YOU'RE NOT MISSING ANYTHING IN LIFE BY NOT HAVING YOUR PARENT AROUND. HE OR SHE MISSED OUT ON YOUR LIFE!
YOU DID NOT LOSE. HE OR SHE DID!

I did not realize that myself, until 20 years after not seeing my father, I was talking to my Aunt one night. It dawned on me: I've had a hell of a ball, done some really fun and fascinating things, met great people all over the USA and Mexico and he didn't get a chance to share in that. So, who's the loser??? ha ha ha You snooze, you lose.
Now, I'm sitting here laughing!!
It is a great book Alejandro! Perfect for today's millions of abandoned kids, whatever their age.
This story should be made into a movie and given out free at all video rental stores in the USA. There are too many abandoned kids, in one form or the other, and NO ONE is helping them to understand the cure for their self loss. Alejandro does that. His book is a cure for an EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL CANCER OF AMERICAN SOCIETY.
Thank you!! Mr. Dominguez. I was crying....and now I am LAUGHING!!

In every boy's life there is a crucial point where he teeters on the brink of manhood. It's at this time, when the boy-man is most vulnerable that he needs a role model to guide him past the final pitfalls of adolescence into the responsibilities of adulthood.

Breaking Even, Alejandro Grattan's brilliantly crafted coming-of-age novel begins with 18-year-old Val leaving his small West Texas town in search of his role model, a father who left years before and who Val discovers is very much alive even though his mother, Lupe has always told him his father had died a hero's death.

Apart from the mystery of his father, Val has other issues. His mother is Mexican and Val's mixed racial heritage fixes him firmly near the bottom of the social pecking order in their small town and gives him an identity problem. He dislikes his life working in his mother's roadside diner and dreams of going to Hollywood to work in the movies. His confusion causes him to refuse advice from those who most care for him. To top it off his girlfriend Bonnie is pregnant. His immaturity ensures he only grapples with twinges of conscience, never with real issues.

Val's father Frank Cooper is a high stakes poker player in search of his own Holy Grail, the big pot that always seems to be in the next game. When he finds Cooper, Val is at first taken in by his charm and easy manner. However as each flaw is uncovered Val comes to see his father as he really is, an addicted gambler with no dream and no prospect of one. With this realization Val's own sense of responsibility to himself and to others begins to develop. This, in turn allows him to discern right from wrong, and to identify those who really do care for him.

The theme of this book is personal responsibility and Grattan has ensured authentic characters by coloring no one completely black or completely white. All are developed realistically including the minor characters of Floyd, his mother's short-order cook husband and Blue, a washed-up saloon singer and paid escort who travels with Cooper. Though everyone has personal flaws they are redeemed by the responsibilities they assume. Only Cooper is without redemption and therein is the brilliance of the novel. The message is conveyed without preaching.

This is a serious story dealing with serious issues and can be enjoyed at different levels. At one Val's search for his father is a metaphor for the real quest, his identity. On another level the book can be enjoyed as a great story with tightly defined characters who speak incredible lines such as, "The life of the party had gone home leaving Val and Cooper stranded out in the middle of a conversational wilderness."

The author's screen-writing and film directing background is clearly evident in the imagery and visual scenes painted throughout the book. Apart from being a darn good read this novel is noteworthy for the issues addressed, well-rounded characters, colorful images, and biting dialogue.

This heart-warming and enticing story grabbed my full attention. I could hardly put it down. I was captivated by the plot and Val's dedicated search for his father and the challenges that he faced on his journey. Each character contributed to the excitement and the intrigue. I highly recommend this book.

I'm fifteen-years-old. My parents got divorced when I was eleven. I come from three generations of divorced parents. I wondered what the problem was with me, that I couldn't be with my dad. Then I read Alejandro Grattan Dominguez's book "Breaking Even", which was great, and I looked at the situation a lot differently.
I related to Val through most of the book. It made me feel better that it's okay to live without my dad. My dad lives in Phoenix right now and he is giving my mom and I problems that I'm not living with him. I'm not losing anything at all by not having my dad around. I'm having a good life without him. He is the one missing out. So to me, he is a jerk like Frank Cooper in the book.
I really got into the book when Val just walked out on his dad, because that is similar to what I did, and when I did, I felt bad, but inside, I actually didn't.
Now that I have read this book, I feel a lot better and it taught me some things. For instance, how Val left Big Bend, Texas, I left Dover, Delaware. That is where I grew up until I was seven-years-old when we started traveling.
My family in Delaware thinks it's so bad that my brother and I travel. I have fun with my gymnastics, traveling everywhere and seeing interesting things outside of where I grew up. But instead, my family is back in Delaware thinking they're having fun in their toxic waste State.
My situation is similar to Val's family and friends. They didn't want him to go search for his dad or work at his goal to go to California, but it's a lot better than staying in one place all your life. Plus, it's educational to see all the States and different cultures.
My opinion is that "Breaking Even" should be read in all High Schools in the Country because about seventy percent of kids in the U.S. only have one parent. I'm telling all my friends to read it. We're all miserable because of our parent's selfishness. It will help them like it helped me.

This is a coming-of-age story set in the 1950s. Val, an 18-year-old Mexican-American, works in his Mexican mother's cafe, lives for the movies, and dreams about leaving the small West Texas town where he has lived all his life. Having grown up thinking that his Anglo father was dead, he is shocked to learn that he is alive,and there begins the real story.

It is Val's search not only for his father, Cooper (who looks to Val like a Hollywood movie star and is actually a professional high-stakes gambler), but also for his own identity and roots as a Mexican-American man. Team the father and son characters Cooper and Val with Ms. Blue Morgan, a kind-hearted, aging paid companion from Reno, and the story becomes even more deliciously colorful and complicated. A poker game brings these three together in El Paso for their initial meeting, and it leads to a bigger poker game in Reno and the adventure of their lives. They are all coincidentally at turning points and must decide on new courses for their lives. This is more than a coming-of-age story; it is one of coming to terms with one's life and taking responsibility for that life. It is a story of hard questions and decisions. Ultimately, it is a story of liberation from past circumstances and the pursuit of destiny.

Grattan-Dominguez is a fine storyteller with a good sense of dialogue. His portrayals of character and of the authentic Southwest are sure to earn him a growing reputation as a writer.