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)

6 comments:

  1. 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.

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

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  3. 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.

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  4. 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.

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  5. 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.

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  6. 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.

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