Friday, May 1, 2009

65 - The Simplest of Acts and Other Stories; Melanie Haney



I do not read many short stories collections, but when I was asked to review Melanie Haney's recent book: The Simplest of Acts and Other Stories, I did not realize what a treat I was in for.
This collection of (11) stories, just 102 pages was excellent. Each story was well written, and kept my interest. I especially enjoyed the fact that I could actually relate to the characters in most of the stories, as they were every day people, and the stories were about every day life: joy and sadness, love and loss.
My favorite story was : An Ordinary Evening where a devoted mother spends long periods of time at her daughter's bedside in the hospital. She is faced with a difficult decision regarding terminating life support; poignantly written. While this story of some of the others might lead you to believe they might be terribly depressing, I found the opposite to be true. There seemed to be a message of hope and renewal throughout these stories, that made the reading so rewarding. I hope to see more books from the promising new author in the future.
RATING - 4/5 - COMPLETED - 5/1/09
WHERE FROM - My Stacks (review)
Posted by at
Labels: ,

6 comments:

  1. DarleneMay 2, 2009 at 9:50 PM

    My favorite was An Ordinary Evening also. I agree that you'd think this collection of stories might be depressign but like you I thought the opposite. I found hope in them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ElizabethMay 4, 2009 at 9:22 PM

    I'm re-discovering the short story genre - I'll have to look for this collection. It sounds very interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. LisaMay 5, 2009 at 4:16 PM

    I'm slowly beginning to appreciate the short story format, as well. I'm not sure why I don't pick them up more often. This sounds like a nice collection. I love to read about the lives of ordinary people especially if I can relate to them in some way.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ZibileeMay 6, 2009 at 9:50 AM

    I haven't yet read any short stories this year, and have been looking for something that I would like. This collection is something I am going to have to check out, as it sounds like the stories inside are very well written.

    ReplyDelete
  5. IlianaMay 7, 2009 at 5:03 PM

    I hadn't heard of this one but I've been trying to read more short stories lately so it is definitely going on my list.

    ReplyDelete
  6. BeccaMay 7, 2009 at 8:42 PM

    This sounds like a lovely short story collection. I like that you found hope in the stories. It is always beneficial to the soul to find the light in the dark.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to visit and double thanks for any comments. If you ask a question in your comments, I will try to reply to it here, or by email if your settings allow me to do so. Thanks again for visiting.


Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)