Short Stories Books

As a professional speaker and writer to parents I applaud and highly recommend this book! Written as a dialogue between parent and child, we hear the innocence of a child and the wisdom of the parent. For each naive question the parent gently shares an applicable scripture in today's language. When I speak on nurturing a child's spiritual development I ALWAYS recommend "Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?" to my audience. Not only can it help parents relate to their child but it can help us adults relate to our loving Heavenly Father. Books that are easy to read were often difficult to write and it's a gift to communicate truth in simple ways. My book, Parenting Power in the Early Years, is an easy read and I know from experience the research and labor that went into its writing. This knowledge gives me an even greater appreciation for the profound simplicity of "Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?"

As a professional speaker and writer to parents I applaud and highly recommend this book! Written as a dialogue between parent and child, we hear the innocence of a child and the wisdom of the parent. For each naive question the parent gently shares an applicable scripture in today's language. When I speak on nurturing a child's spiritual development I ALWAYS recommend "Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?" to my audience. Not only can it help parents relate to their child but it can help us adults relate to our loving Heavenly Father. Books that are easy to read were often difficult to write and it's a gift to communicate truth in simple ways. My book, Parenting Power in the Early Years, is an easy read and I know from experience the research and labor that went into its writing. This knowledge gives me an even greater appreciation for the profound simplicity of "Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?"

As a professional speaker and writer to parents I applaud and highly recommend this book! Written as a dialogue between parent and child, we hear the innocence of a child and the wisdom of the parent. For each naive question the parent gently shares an applicable scripture in today's language. When I speak on nurturing a child's spiritual development I ALWAYS recommend "Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?" to my audience. Not only can it help parents relate to their child but it can help us adults relate to our loving Heavenly Father. Books that are easy to read were often difficult to write and it's a gift to communicate truth in simple ways. ... I know from experience the research and labor that went into its writing. This knowledge gives me an even greater appreciation for the profound simplicity of "Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?"

As a professional speaker and writer to parents I applaud and highly recommend this book! Written as a dialogue between parent and child, we hear the innocence of a child and the wisdom of the parent. For each naive question the parent gently shares an applicable scripture in today's language. When I speak on nurturing a child's spiritual development I ALWAYS recommend "Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?" to my audience. Not only can it help parents relate to their child but it can help us adults relate to our loving Heavenly Father. Books that are easy to read were often difficult to write and it's a gift to communicate truth in simple ways. My book, Parenting Power in the Early Years, is an easy read and I know from experience the research and labor that went into its writing. This knowledge gives me an even greater appreciation for the profound simplicity of "Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?"

As a professional speaker and writer to parents I applaud and highly recommend this book! It's a dialogue between parent and child with naive questions answered and applied by scripture in today's language. When I speak on nurturing a child's spiritual development I ALWAYS recommend "Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?" to my audience. Books that are easy reads are often difficult to write as there's a gift in communicating truth in simplistic ways...Parenting Power in the Early Years, is one of those easy reads and because of my writing experience I can appreciate the skillful writing of "Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?"

Nice concurrence of words and thoughts. Magical reality. All stories were quite fine. I enjoyed 'The Hitchhiker Tale at Anton's Restaurant' the best.
'The Uninvited Guest' with its political statements would have been even stronger, in my opinion, by not being placed in a magical reality - which ended. The issues are too important and too real.

Dreamtime is an apt title for this collection of short stories. The author has a wonderfully natural writing style, and in all but one case the story feels as if the author is right there with you recounting personal stories beside the hearth - indeed, the majority of the stories are drawn from personal experience, as the author tells us in his Preface. The naturalistic style of the writing makes for a perfect medium in which Steiner introduces touches of the dream-like and supernatural. In story after story, the world of the mundane is gradually infused with an atmosphere of intellectual, almost dreamlike fog.

The initial story, The Decoy, is rather atypical of the eleven stories collected here, in that it does not stray into the realm of the unusual. It does, however, show how good can come of seemingly bad occurrences. The sense of dreamlike experience first manifests itself in The Hiker's Tale: At Anton's Restaurant, in my opinion the most effective story in the collection. In this tale, an older gentleman finds himself caught in a sudden snowstorm, only to find a needed respite in the form of a most unusual restaurant.

Two of the stories, The Student Pilot and The Returning Student, share a similar theme; they don't deal with reincarnation per se, but in each case a great man of the past seems to make an unexpected and relatively brief trip into a contemporary but otherwise mundane setting. Canine Fantasies was a story I particularly enjoyed; here, the main character is given an invisible canine companion by a hypnotist, and this supposedly transient spirit eventually becomes the man's best friend in ways few would believe.

Several of the stories are open-ended explorations of extreme possibilities. The Disappearance, for instance, puts forth one possible scenario of The Rapture in the form of a man with whom the protagonist has, he realizes after the fact, a brief but personal connection. Events and personalities coming back together for a seemingly preordained purpose is also the formula for the story The Sea Witch. Phoenix Street is the only story with a real feeling of creepiness embedded within it - in the form of a malevolent old lady who affects a young Harvard graduate student's life, despite the fact the two individuals have never truly met.

A palpable sense of unreality or perhaps hyper-reality is evinced in the story The Uninvited Guest. Here, a stranded traveler wanders into an upscale party of strange characters espousing radical ideas. There would seem to be a context of political philosophy built into this story, but it is hard to say more without giving anything away.

The Pilgrim proves to be the most unusual story in the collection; it offers an allegorically striking and most unusual take on the subject of dying. I would have liked to have seen this story close out the book rather than the much less effective tale Round Trip. This final tale differs from the others in that it is told from the perspective of a third person, and its somewhat depressing account of an astronaut returning to a world forty years in his future (thanks to the conundrum of relativity) casts a dark reflection on the reader's consciousness.

Needless to say, I found Dreamtime a most impressive short story collection. While the author devoted his life to science, he obviously developed at the same time a deep sense of the human condition, with all its fears, desires, and mysteries. His writing style, far from the cold and sterile manner you might associate with a man of science, is in fact vibrant and exceedingly smooth and natural. Steiner chose the title Dreamtime because the word reflects a time of creativity and dreamlike magic, and as such it seems to fit this collection of stories perfectly.

Dreamtime is a term for the magical period of the creation of the world...it grasps the meaning of mystery and mystical wonder. The title "Dreamtime" captures the essence of Robert Steiner's short story collection and gives the correct suggestion that this too is a thing of mystery and mystical wonder.

This collection offers stories of great variety, from an odd summer job of being a decoy for muggings to the consequences of space travel. All of the stories contain some sort of oddity, lending them all an air of the "Twilight Zone." Each is a short, satisfying episode of fiction that will be sure to please its readers.

Robert Steiner is a storyteller with a gift for description. He grabs the reader's attention from the first word and offers tidbits of uniqueness to carry you through to the end of each tale. "Dreamtime" is an interesting and enjoyable read that touches on the paranormal but also demonstrates the very human qualities of its characters.

Review by Heather Froeschl of BookReview.com.

What is a dream? Is it merely that state achieved during sleep when fleeting images only half remembered later trace their way through your mind? Or are there other dream states? How about an alternate reality? Could one stumble into something so extraordinary and so beyond the common frame of reference that it constitutes a sort of waking dream? Author Robert Steiner seems to think so. He compiled eleven short stories outlining his belief under the title "Dreamtime." The author, a Harvard graduate who worked as a research scientist at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, has written a series of tales that evoke memories of such writers of the supernatural as William Hope Hodgson and even, in a certain narrative way, Clark Ashton Smith. Not all of the stories delve into the paranormal, but all of the stories do give the reader a decidedly eerie sensation of "not quite rightness" that only the masters of supernatural fiction manage to achieve. You won't find a lot of monsters from beyond time and space or fabled lands on other planets in "Dreamtime." What we do get is something far more sinister and far more personal. This is one creepy set of stories.

The first story in the collection, "The Decoy," doesn't exactly set the tone for the rest of the book. Don't get me wrong; it's a great story. But it doesn't expose us to the bizarre like the rest of the tales do. In this one, a young man ready to head off to graduate school decides to take a most unusual summer job in Italy helping the authorities there crack down on street criminals. Why he would be perfect for the job only emerges in degrees: it seems that his physical appearance is so repugnant that the Italian cops think he looks like a dupe of the type criminals love to victimize. He's actually quite intelligent, of course, which is another trait the police are looking for. Needless to say, he works wonders busting up packs of pickpockets until an encounter with a particularly ruthless gang of Russian thugs changes our young hero forever.

The next story, "The Hiker's Tale: At Anton's Restaurant," is more conventionally weird, if that makes any sense. A man decides to take a long hike to a dinner party only to run headlong into a dangerous snowstorm. He sits down on a stump to rest--never a good thing to do when it's cold and snowing outside--only to resume his trip a few minutes later. He stumbles over a brightly lit gentleman's club/restaurant in a place he never noticed on previous excursions. Invited inside by the friendly personnel, he sits down to partake of the inn's fantastic menu only to wake up suddenly in the hospital, a victim of frostbite and extreme exhaustion. Was it real or only a dream of a warm, welcoming place conjured up by an injured mind and body in order to sustain itself?

The next four tales share a similar trait in that we are seeing people or animals emerging from some other place or time to affect characters in the present day. "The Student Pilot" introduces us to a mysterious man who shows up for flight lessons even though he seems to know everything about flying airplanes. His identity, strongly hinted at toward the end of the story, makes us wonder whether what we are seeing is a case of reincarnation or something more eerie. The same can be said for "Canine Fantasies," a truly odd tale of a man hypnotized into thinking a phantom dog follows him everywhere he goes. Is it the recalled spirit of his childhood pet or a merely a hallucination? Problem is, this spirit helps the main character out in a big way on several occasions. "The Returning Student" eschews pilots and dogs in favor of a university teacher's encounter with an enigmatic student resembling one of our most famous authors. In "The Disappearance" the author treats us to yet another reappearing historical figure, this time a figure straight out of the Bible.

For something darker and scarier, turn to "Phoenix Street," "The Seaside Witch," and "The Uninvited Guest." The first involves a Harvard graduate student stressing out over finishing his thesis who disintegrates into a nervous wreck after glimpsing the visage of an evil looking woman glaring at him from the window of a house. "The Seaside Witch" involves a strange case of two individuals meeting again years after a chance encounter. The witch appears only briefly and in a way that doesn't set off alarm bells until the end of the story. My favorite story, and one that will definitely stay with me for some time, is "The Uninvited Guest." Some poor wretch caught in the fog pulls up to a house filled with chattering people throwing out very grim political opinions. This story made me think of Jack London's "The Iron Heel." The last tales include a science fiction story, "Round Trip," about an astronaut returning to earth after a forty-year excursion among the stars, and a delightfully optimistic look at the afterlife called "The Pilgrim."

Steiner has written some real gems here. He definitely has a knack for creating delightfully bizarre environments in the space of a few pages. His writing style works well too: you get the sense rather quickly that this is an author who ponders over each and every sentence to make sure he gets everything just right. He might have worked in science as a career, but his talents extend far beyond the laboratory and the microscope.

Robert Steiner named his collection of short stories from the Australian Aborigine "Dreamtime"--that world of the past, present and future that is a spiritual mystery. The title is apt--each story, whether set in this world or some other takes place in that nebulous region between life and death, between real and imagined.

The stories reminded me a bit of Edgar Allen Poe, but without being so bitterly dark. In a way, reading these was a bit like listening to "Hotel California" (but I mean that in a good way!)

There is a story of an unremarkable-looking young man who signs up for a stint patrolling the tourist areas of Rome. The work is not exactly without dangers, and he finds that even the darkest situation can yield some unexpected benefits. There is a story of a man who finds an abandoned mansion in Pennsylvania. The guests are captains of industry and society dames, but the uninvited guest finds out that they are far more dangerous than their conversation. A student in Cambridge, Massachusetts learns about the residue that pure evil can leave behind. And a professor in a third-rate college has a star pupil who is as elusive as he is brilliant. Who is the old guy that sits in on the classes, aces the exams but won't sign up for a campus ID and eludes security with the ease of a cat burglar?

The stories are enjoyable--reading this is like telling ghost stories around a campfire, but as if you had very literary camping friends, indeed. I enjoyed "Dreamtime" --once picked up, it's hard to put it down. If you like fantasy-horror on the light and fanciful side, this will appeal to you.

I thought this book might be interesting because it was written by a Detroit Native and is about this city we live in and around. Little did I know that I would pick it up one night figuring I'd thumb through it and read the entire thing in one sitting!!
Eight Dogs Named Jack and 14 Other Stories from the Detroit Streets and Michigan Wilderness marks the writing debut of Michigan artist Joe Borri, who is employed at Skidmore Inc., a studio in Royal Oak, Mich. This collection of short stories is inspired by the East Side Detroit neighborhood where he grew up and its predominantly Italian denizens. It's very easy to read, and keeps you flipping the pages till you're done.
Some books I pick up, read a few chapters and put down, only to never finish them again. The coolest thing about this book is each chapter is its own story. Some of the chapters I really wanted to hear more about, maybe delve into them a little deeper, so I would keep reading the next chapter thinking it would lead into the story deeper, but it would just start another one and get me hooked into that new character.
Joe Borri has a great way of describing the scene. You can picture the street, you can feel the warm breeze blowing on your face, you neck tightens up when he talks about a certain fight, and you need to make another drink when he describes the beautiful ladies the Wiseguys try to work over.
Many of the stories are set in the gritty streets of Detroit, where wiseguys and wannabes walk a thin line between good and evil. Some of these characters work their way "up north," where their street smarts are tested against the immutable forces of nature and the country folk who try and do things a little differently.
The stories are blended together perfectly and this book would be great to bring along on that next flight. You can pick it up anywhere and start fresh. Or you can read it from cover to cover like I did, and finish off a bottle of Scotch while enjoying some of the best writing I've read in years!!

Pat Bonish
www.everymilesamemory.com

Expect the wonderfully unexpected when Goodfellas wannabes meet the Michigan Great Outdoors. With Eight Dogs Named Jack Borri demonstrates that he is a writer who possesses a rare combination of original vision, keen insight and an ability to combine humor and tragedy in striking ways. Many of the stories feature tough characters engaged in battles, physical and psychological, but Borri is not a one-trick pony. Several of my favorite stories in the collection feature characters who are wholly vulnerable and wholly real, and I found myself so engrossed in their struggles that I yearned for their salvation. Borri does not disappoint. Keep your eye on this writer.

This is a collection of short stories written by a native of East Detroit. The stories all take place in Michigan and are outstanding.

I loved this book! The short story format was perfect for this collection of stories from Detroit's east side and "Up North" Michigan. The hunting stories reminded me of tales my dad would tell from his hunting cabin, "The Hot Dog Lodge", and the stories of growing up on Detroit's east side took me back to a time when you could pick up a Vernors at the corner party store and walk into the hardware store and get any tool you needed to finish a job--on credit, no less.
Joe Borri paints a vivid picture with his words and I don't believe I have read a better debut. I cannot wait for more stories from this fresh, new writer.

Borri's distinctive, descriptive way of writing had the ability to vividly export me to the east side of Detroit and "up-north" in Michigan. Each page paints mental pictures that are so clear you feel as if you are being a little voyeuristic. As an Italian American, I felt like he could have been writing about my own family's funny quirks and antics. I really enjoyed the read and found my self laughing out loud in some parts and on the edge of my seat in others.

As a busy mom with 3 kids, I loved the short story format. Each time I ended a story I found myself thinking about it all day -- anxious to find out what the next story might bring. I give it two thumbs way up and am waiting patiently for Eight Dogs Named Jack - Part II.

A fun book of entertaining short stories about the people who live in the small border community of Tecate, Baja, Mexico. Good insight as the author, tho American-born, lives there on his rancho. Several surprise endings, some superstition. The first romantic tale is so engaging it's worth the price of the book.

THIS BOOK WA ASSIGNED TO ME BY MY TEACHER AND AFTER READING THE ENTIRE BOOK, THE THING I MOST REMEBER IS THE CHAPTER ON JEEMY A WHITE MALE THAT WANTS A CALM AND PEACEFUL LIFE AND HE IS RICH TOO.

I don't know when I've read a book that I enjoyed any more. After 17 years of life in Mexico, I KNOW that this author knows what he's talking about. Wonderful insights into Mexican life and that great mystery--Mexican Macho.
The chapter about Casa Grande and Casa Chica was just dead on...Makes me want to meat Daniel Reveles.

Sorry - I couldn't help but continue the conceit of the book, that this is a plate full of "chismes" (tales) from Tecate, Mexico... tales that are truly delightful to the palate.

You will meet a host of intriguing characters, from El Gato, a man who is larger than life, and resident of my favorite novela, "Of Time and Circumstance"; to Fito, who fulfills a promise in "The Man In White"; to our un-named narrator, our "servidor". Mexico and the city of Tecate are characters too. The settings and happenings are ordinary, but imbued with magic, which is part of the delight.

Another reviewer states that this isn't a true depiction of Tecate, and I have no doubt that they are correct. For instance, I'm sure the peasants aren't actually blissfully happy in their poverty. But one of fiction's jobs is to take us to places that don't exist, and in that, the book succeeds admirably. And if the stories make you want to learn more about Mexico, then so much the better!

This is probably the best author you've never read. Pick up a copy ASAP! I can't wait to get a hold of his other two books... my mouth is watering in anticipation!!!

I enjoyed the stories in Enchilada, Rice and Beans, but my favorite was the one about El Gato, who is a character bigger than life in all that we find out about him at the party in his honor. Reveles tells some good stories and I think they don't have to be super great to please the critics,just warm enough to encourage a good look at out neighboors to the South, who embrace life slightly differently in some ways, and yet just like us in others. Very enjoyable.

This is wonderful, imaginative reading for 5-6 year old children. My children adore these stories which are about a brother, sister, their little pixie friend and a magical flying chair that wisks them off to adventures in fantastical lands filled with colorful characters. For all the fans out there who can't wait for restocking (and don't mind paying the postage) - try Amazon.uk.

The Enchanted Woods and The Faraway Tree series were my 1st books when I was 6 years old. Ms Blyton had brought me to a magical world and I was hooked! These books eventually turned me into an avid reader of many other books to come. But nothing quite enchanted me since. As these books are no longer available in stores, Im desperately searching for them so that my children could also exprience the magical world of the adventures in the Enchanted Woods! Im am truly thankful to my parents for buying these books for me!.. You will not regret reading it!

I read the three books in this series and loved it !!!

Now I can't find these books anywhere and I am hoping Amazon will get some back in stock asap so I can buy them.

So Amazon, hurry up and get these back in stock if you can. I'm sure there are many of us just waiting to get these books !!

I discovered Enid Blyton when I was about ten, and even though this particular book/series is meant for younger children, I devoured these gentle and imaginative stories.

The Faraway Tree is a magical tree that has many characters living in it, and at the very top of the tree there is an everchanging cycle of magical worlds - one world will come around every few days or hours and then go away, to return months or years later.

The magical worlds are great fun and offer a look at how trips to different kinds of fantasy lands might play out. The kids have to use their wits to escape from some of the tougher situations they encounter in the nastier worlds, and their willpower to go home from the worlds that offer endless candies and nice things!

I read an older edition of this book, but I have heard from other Blyton fans that they have "updated" the books somewhat in the last ten years. I think Fanny's name has been changed and a lot of silly scenarios have been altered - I can only guess what the censors did to Dame Slap! (She was really pretty tame!) In any case, as a ten-year old growing up in a big city, I didn't find anything snigger-worthy enough to warrant changing, and I'd urge folks to try and find an older edition of this book that has not been abridged.

I am guessing that even if you use this modern edition, though, that Blyton's trademark readability and imaginative writing will still shine through. This would be an ideal book for the eight and under crowd, but even as an adult, I still get a lot of pleasure out of the occasional reread.

Enid Blyton was my favourite author as a child and continues to receive my high esteem. I recently bought these books for my neice who is as yet far too young to read them. I can't wait for a couple of years until she is old enough to sit and listen while 'aunty kat' reads them to her. It did take me a while to find the books as i was determined to find older publications with the correct names as i wanted her to be able to have the same unaltered experience as i did.

Ms Blyton has an amazing capability in being able to catch the hearts and imaginations of children and adults alike and until my neice is old enough i will keep these books in my collection to pick up and re-read on a rainy sunday afternoon.

If your child only reads one book before the age of ten, make sure it is one by this author.

Escapee is a well-crafted and mature collection of short fiction, several of its stories having previously appeared in distinguished literary journals. Characters are often quirky but always believable. Plots are tightly woven and well-paced. The atmosphere in some stories is dark and haunting, in others bright and playful. The first section, "A Fish Like That," will be of special interest to anglers, especially fly fishers, but with original characters like Sandy the woman fly fisher, Benny the perennially inept, Randall the liar, and Keefe the stocked-fish shocker, even non-anglers will find much to enjoy. Section Two, "Repairing the Damage," includes a darker but diverse range of stories that plumb the homely depths of human experience. "Teddy and Gretta: A Workable Translation," Section Three, features a delightful but often unlikeable married couple whose truths too often ring close to home. Escapee is eminently readable but also demands a sharp-witted reading to pierce the surface of seeming simplicity in many of the stories. Any reader who finds these stories less than well-wrought, believable, and engaging was just not paying attention. Poland's prose is crisp and economical, flowing and tuneful, a joy to read. Buy and read this book.

Escapee is a fine collection of short stories, a montage of varied tales linked by a distinctive voice, and flawlessly written. From a female perspective, I can say that Mr. Poland draws real and believable characters, male and female. I especially liked the character of Sandy, who takes up fly fishing after her husband is sent to prison. This is a delightful book.

Escapee is an interesting assortment of short stories from a true craftsman of fiction. The writing and arrangement are flawless. A distinctive voice links a potpourri of diverse, engaging, and entertaining stories. This is a must read.

Reviewers are not supposed to comment on other reviews posted here. I've posted my five-star review previously and can't allow "Amateur's Effort" to go unanswered. There is no "plot" because this is a collection of short stories. Anyone who had actually read the book would know that. The reviewer's suggestion that the author's friends have written five-star reviews is indicative that it is the reviewer who is motivated by personal animus. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, but that right is earned by actually reading the book being reviewed. Do yourself a favor, and read this one.

I received Escapee as an early Christmas present & what a great gift it is. From the first story, I was captivated by the characters,& eagerly devoured each subsequent tale. Really like the author's sparse writing style, quirky sense of humor, & his perspective. An excellent & fun read. I agree with the reviewer who said he/she hoped that Poland has another book in the works.

After reading "Escapee," Tim Poland's short-story collection, I think of Hemingway but humorous, Norman MacLean but irreverent, Raymond Carver but more forthcoming, Flannery O'Connor but on the lighter side. I also think of strong female characters, like Thelma and Louise, who fight back and break free.

In "A Fish Like That," the first of three sections, Poland writes stories that center on fly-fishing. Why are so many good writers (like Hemingway and MacLean) attracted to it? As anyone who has ever cast a line into a stream knows, such an act can have a deep symbolic resonance. Water can be the creative mystery through which we go fishing for ideas. And writing, like fly-fishing, is a craft, one Poland understands with stylistic exactitude. "Learning to Lie" deals with the intertwining of fishing and fiction and is almost a meditation on a process at work throughout the book. Fishermen (writers) present the lure (plot), in a certain context (character and setting), calling forth something from beyond. In the title story, a woman takes up fishing to explore a connection with her husband who is serving time for manslaughter. In the process, Sandy develops a connection with nature, escaping from a bad husband while he is trying to escape from prison.

The second section, "Repairing the Damage," presents several tenacious heroines; and in the third section, "Teddy and Greta: A Workable Translation," Poland writes four stories about an obstinate married couple who both confound and console one another.

Through all three sections the prose sparkles, as Poland endows the commonplace - a spinner in a tackle box turned into jewelry - with a startling power. Though the topics are as diverse as divorce, child abuse, Alzheimer's, small-town life and fly-fishing, throughout them runs a common theme: the encumbered disentangle themselves, and the broken find ways to mend. "Escapee" offers entertaining escape from the everyday but also serious confrontation with daily (and deeply) human matters.

Esther Stories was a pleasantly unexpected find. Although I think this is an imminently impressive collection of short stories by a highly talented writer, I found myself much less "into" the stories in the second half of the book, than I'd been by the more eclectic tales that comprised the opening part. My favorite story here was "At The Motel Rainbow," which reminded me in a favorable way of vintage Joyce Carol Oates, circa "By The North Gate." However, I really wish Esther Stories had been two separate books, one an anthology of the stories that were set from Canada to the Midwest, the other being the Esther pieces proper. The stories in each section would easily have stood on their own, and truthfully the departure from them to theme was abrupt and confusing. But let me close this review by saying there wasn't a single bad story in this book and some rank as true masterpieces of the short fiction art form. A well-deserved best of luck to Peter Orner, from whom I have no doubt we'll be hearing more in the future!

Nikolay Gogol and Isaac Babel meet William Trevor and Andre Dubus in Peter Orner's superb debut collection of short fiction. For the past two years I've used ESTHER STORIES as a major text in my intro-to-creative-writing course at Miami University in Ohio. Orner is the presiding grand master of his genre: diamond-clear documentary short-shorts like "Initials Etched on a Dining-Room Table, Lockeport, Nova Scotia" and "My Father in an Elevator with Anita Fanska, August 1976"-yet he can branch out in longer stories, as well. His range is broad; his wildly funny "Two Poes" stands alongside his stark thriller, "Thumbs," inasmuch as his bittersweet nostalgic "At the Motel Rainbow" complements his disturbing portrait of a World War II Navy destroyer captain in "The Raft." Orner is one of the hottest new writers on the American literary scene. Ten cheers for ESTHER STORIES, an instant classic!

I was thrilled to find Peters book on our local library shelf. As a reader from Winnetka, Illinois, I felt moved and touched by Peters ability to capture the true essence of living here on the NORTH SHORE in the heart of the Mid West! I enjoyed every short story and found it difficult to put the book down without thinking about how one young mind could have experienced or imagined so much emotion in his life time! Although many stories are emotional, he never leaves us feeling sad!

Peter what a wonder collection of stories, we are all proud of you! It has been my honor reading your incredible stories.

I first bought this book mostly because I was curious about Orner outside of the classes he teaches at my university. The short stories in this book are all touching, some haunting. Each makes you feel a little guilty for moving on to the next. "Sitting Theodore" was my personal favorite. I hope he writes more books and continues to teach into senility and decrepitude.

Aside from being a great author, he's a great instructor as well. Hell yes, Orner. Go on with your bad self!

Agreeing with all of the previous reviewers as to the high quality of this collection of stories, I'll just add that rarely have I read a contemporary work so beautifully worded that it is truly a literary gem. Peter Orner has written an amazing book, and it is a must read.

I have to agree with Harriet Klausner's use of the word "shmaltzy" in her review, as opposed to the others describing it as deeply meaningful, poignant and heart wrenching. However, I have not been closely affected by breast cancer, as is the main character in this story. Rather, I came upon this novel because of my love for Martha's Vineyard, and to that end it was an enjoyable read, reminsicent of "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" by Dan Millman, without being such an obvious lesson in learning about yourself.

I recently finished Eternal Journey and was deeply moved by its many deep messages. From the moment this book "jumped off the shelf" for me to buy, I knew this was the perfect book for me to read at this moment. I saw an amazing number of coincidences throughout the book with my own life, to the point where I felt like the book had been written just for me! For instance, my 5-year niece is named Annie(the name of the main character in Eternal Journey) and was just diagnosed with luekemia at the same time I was moving through the heart of the story. I just thought it was bizarre that I'd be reading about death (and rebirth) during a time when I was dealing with my second potential death crisis (luckily Annie is responding to chemo and is now in remission). During this same time, my husband surprized me with an eternity, celtic wedding band, which was a symbol of rebirth and eternal connection woven throughout the book. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful message and experience with me and I'm looking forward to sharing it with many of my spiritual woman friends.

Once in a while a little book comes along and just steals you away. Read a page or two and the next thing you know, you're gone...you're somewhere else for awhile. Eternal Journey does exactly that. It transports you to a special place where mystical events unfold and love transcends loss. Acceptance triumphs over anguish; grief grows into hope. On your journey through this book, you'll travel with Anna, a successful psychotherapist whose mission is helping others unravel and come to terms with life's mysteries. When Anna loses her closest friend Beth to cancer--the third such loss among her friends in a year--she comes unglued. Disconsolate, and trying to "get a grip" (ironically the name of her own radio talk show), she flees to Martha's Vineyard Island for a long winter week-end of healing solitude. Hoping to work through her grief alone, she discovers she is anything but alone. Inexplicably, she runs into and then keeps crossing paths with a truly remarkable individual. As she struggles to find meaning in her loss, other extraordinary "encounters" take place, until finally she realizes that love and connections never die....That life is maybe only one leg of an ongoing journey. Perhaps death is not the end of the road. Perhaps the dying process is really a gateway to another path in our travels. Like the birth process. What an affirming concept! What you'll love about Eternal Journey is that it bravely takes you where other books do not. Through the medium of storytelling, this lovely and poignant fable speaks straight to your belief systems, offering meanings unfamiliar to most outside the realm of hospice care and grief counseling. Far from being morbid or depressing, the author's message absolutely shines: it's awe inspiring and uplifting. In a word, it's hope (yes, as in "...springs eternal"). Eternal Journey is not just for the bereaved or those anticipating a bereavement. It's for all of us. Consider it a gift for your spirit, a balm for your soul. Carol Hutton has created a wonderful journey for anyone open to life's marvels.

Carol Hutton's Eternal Journey is fast and powerfully direct. Told as a fictional tale, this book will resonate with anyone who's ever suffered loss, experienced coincidences or synchronicities in their life. There are reasons for all experiences, good and bad, although the difference in resolution and understanding is in the part of the equation known as time. Awareness is the skill which needs to be developed as the reader progresses through the novel. The real value is translating this into one's own life.

Once in a while a little book comes along and just steals you away. Read a page or two and the next thing you know, you're gone...you're somewhere else for awhile. Eternal Journey does exactly that. It transports you to a special place where mystical events unfold and love transcends loss. Acceptance triumphs over anguish; grief grows into hope. On your journey through this book, you'll travel with Anna, a successful psychotherapist whose mission is helping others unravel and come to terms with life's mysteries. When Anna loses her closest friend Beth to cancer--the third such loss among her friends in a year--she comes unglued. Disconsolate, and trying to "get a grip" (ironically the name of her own radio talk show), she flees to Martha's Vineyard Island for a long winter week-end of healing solitude. Hoping to work through her grief alone, she discovers she is anything but alone. Inexplicably, she runs into and then keeps crossing paths with a truly remarkable individual. As she struggles to find meaning in her loss, other extraordinary "encounters" take place, until finally she realizes that love and connections never die....That life is maybe only one leg of an ongoing journey. Perhaps death is not the end of the road. Perhaps the dying process is really a gateway to another path in our travels. Like the birth process. What an affirming concept! What you'll love about Eternal Journey is that it bravely takes you where other books do not. Through the medium of storytelling, this lovely and poignant fable speaks straight to your belief systems, offering meanings unfamiliar to most outside the realm of hospice care and grief counseling. Far from being morbid or depressing, the author's message absolutely shines: it's awe inspiring and uplifting. In a word, it's hope (yes, as in "...springs eternal"). Eternal Journey is not just for the bereaved or those anticipating a bereavement. It's for all of us. Consider it a gift for your spirit, a balm for your soul. Carol Hutton has created a wonderful journey for anyone open to life's marvels.

This is a wonderful, if hard-edged, story of one young woman's experience in Paris. Unlike the myriad books out there painting a rosy picture of (name any European country here), this portrait is more intimate, more gritty, and much better written than most you will find in your local bookstore.

Here, the character is unsure, struggling to find herself, some friends, and her way in the world. She hides a lot from others and herself on this journey of discovery, but each scene is truthful, compelling you to go on. This is a coming of age book, with all the clouds of vacuousness gone. It's the real story of a real American girl in Paris, lumps and all. I loved this book and highly recommend it.

This novel written by an author best known for her nonfiction/memoirs is a totally engaging coming of age story. This is a quietly spectacular novel about a brief but life-defining moment for Sabine, a young American exchange student in Paris. Struggles in class, language and culture, and the juxtaposition of personal history with the present, are the makings of this character-driven story, and it makes for a wonderful read. One of the themes that makes this a haunting and relatable story is the loneliness of a young person making adult decisions and living with the consequences. I found myself thinking about it for a long time the book was finished.

Apart from the "gripping" (boy is that word overused in book reviews) style, and an intense feeling of integrity, this book offers humorus/morbid insights to everyday life, through a not so regular week in the life of an american exchange student, trapped in a not so romantic paris. I found it very enjoyable.

A gritty taste of reality told by an author whose command of the English language is a thing of beauty. Samantha Dunn tells the story of a young woman caught in a crisis without anyone to turn to in a land that can never up to her expectations. I was compelled to turn the page and see this girl face difficult hardships, intense loneliness, and moral dilemmas that would test any resolve. I was surprised that I cared so deeply for the character of Sabine and her journey to become a woman. An amazing book written by an amazing author.

Paris is usually written about in novels as romantic, luminous, but here it's grey, rainy, dangerous, claustrophobic--and thus, a revelation. On scholarship from Los Cruces, NM, Sabine is trying to fit in, to escape her lower middle class background, but can she ever really learn French so well that she *is* French? Powerful, gripping, hypnotic--and beautifully written.

From the remarkably eloquent foreword to the beautifully drawn and written stories, each page of this graphic novel shines. The narratives are subtle and Chekhovian in their ability to evoke emotion and mood. They're also just plain funny. A must-read, especially for anyone who's spent time out of U.S.

The humour in this intimately-written graphic novel hits home with its baldly honest, personal stories. Like others, I didn't want the book to end, and found myself slowing the read by spending extra time with the expressive and fabulously rendered comic panels. Very entertaining & excellent to pass on to friends.

What a lovely book! The title conveys the sense perfectly. These finely drawn stories capture the moments any traveller will recognize, when throwing yourself at the mercy of the world leaves you exposed not only to things mind-blowingly new but also to your own template--sensory memories, childhood perceptions, early hurts and wonderings. Any reader who is interested in travel will appreciate this book, whether or not she usually likes comics. A FEW PERFECT HOURS works on so many levels, I've found myself leaving it out and turning to it again and again.

"A Few Perfect Hours" isn't the kind of work you can easily peg: A graphic novel, it's also the kind of compelling travel writing that takes you on a journey both inside and beyond yourself, to off-the-beaten-path adventures in countries that no longer exist precisely the way they did when Josh & his wife Sari once traveled the globe. The result is a journey in time as well as one between borders. With pieces ranging from humorous to thought-provoking, Neufeld shows he is as capable of fascinating us with his writing as he is with his illustrations. Both bear up to several visits. In fact, it might be worth reading the whole book through once for the stories, again for the visuals, and at least once more to explore how the two interact.

A tip-off to the care he took inside, Neufeld packaged his work in an impressive form (paper, ink, and front and back matter) that makes "A Few Perfect Hours" a beautiful book that stands apart on the shelf. The result is a very readable, rewarding graphic novel that would be equally perfect tucked in a backpack or lying on a coffeetable.

Much will be (and has already been) said about Josh Neufeld's journey -- spiritual, emotional, physical, and otherwise -- as he depicts it in this insightful compilation (and indeed it is highly satisfying for a reader to observe -- as a voyeur safely removed from the frequent moral quandaries one faces when travelling abroad -- Josh's struggles while schlepping his American-bred presumptions around the globe). But as gratifying as these anecdotes might be, what really stikes me the most is his journey as an artist. Here is not simply the chronicles of a young man and his adventures in a comic book format, it's also the chronicles of an artist: years of experimentation, study, and refining a singular vision and style. This book did not happen overnight. Look closely, and you'll recognize the Life of The Comic Book Artist -- hidden behind the stories, Josh has provided us with a glimpse of how much art and an artist can change over time, even if ever so subtly. Having read much of his other works, I can now appreciate even more the times he has discussed his stylistic choices, because this book contains it all -- the whole kit and caboodle at my fingertips. So, keeping in mind Josh's own self-analyses from earlier years, I can now smile and laugh even harder when I see Josh in a tight bodysuit or Sari's tiny little feet (p. 61, "How to Star in a Singaporean Soap Opera"). Hergé would be proud...