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pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
I have always been partial to short stories. I am in awe of writers who can tell me about a whole world with just a few pages. Richard is one of those authors. I first encountered him through his autobiography, House of Prayer No. 2: A Writer's Journey Home. In this book, Richard is telling fiction.
Although I am not sure these stories are fiction. Richard has lived a weird life – maybe some of these things happened to him or to people he knows. I have lived in Virginia for almost 35 years – weird things are normal around here. However, if Richard took this stories to a NYC editor and said they had occurred, I suspect that he would have been locked up in the nearest mental facility.
So, I will take the author’s word that these are fiction. That does not mean that truth is absent from these tales. There were times while I was reading that I stopped and thought about what was being said. The characters in these stories have experienced life, sometimes in ways that are hard. Sometimes in ways that are funny. I was always glad I had met these people.
If you like Southern literature, short stories, great writing or just want to be entertained, I recommend Mark Richard’s tales.
Although I am not sure these stories are fiction. Richard has lived a weird life – maybe some of these things happened to him or to people he knows. I have lived in Virginia for almost 35 years – weird things are normal around here. However, if Richard took this stories to a NYC editor and said they had occurred, I suspect that he would have been locked up in the nearest mental facility.
So, I will take the author’s word that these are fiction. That does not mean that truth is absent from these tales. There were times while I was reading that I stopped and thought about what was being said. The characters in these stories have experienced life, sometimes in ways that are hard. Sometimes in ways that are funny. I was always glad I had met these people.
If you like Southern literature, short stories, great writing or just want to be entertained, I recommend Mark Richard’s tales.
greyscarf's review against another edition
4.0
Read Richard's memoir for review & loved his use of language. Here's hoping I can get to this collection in 2011.
**Update** As good as I anticipated!
**Update** As good as I anticipated!
sarahmac314's review against another edition
3.0
An uneven collection, but that tends to be the case with most short story collections in my experience. The first two stories are worth the price of admission, but then they get progressively less memorable.
pattydsf's review
3.0
I have always been partial to short stories. I am in awe of writers who can tell me about a whole world with just a few pages. Richard is one of those authors. I first encountered him through his autobiography, House of Prayer No. 2: A Writer's Journey Home. In this book, Richard is telling fiction.
Although I am not sure these stories are fiction. Richard has lived a weird life – maybe some of these things happened to him or to people he knows. I have lived in Virginia for almost 35 years – weird things are normal around here. However, if Richard took this stories to a NYC editor and said they had occurred, I suspect that he would have been locked up in the nearest mental facility.
So, I will take the author’s word that these are fiction. That does not mean that truth is absent from these tales. There were times while I was reading that I stopped and thought about what was being said. The characters in these stories have experienced life, sometimes in ways that are hard. Sometimes in ways that are funny. I was always glad I had met these people.
If you like Southern literature, short stories, great writing or just want to be entertained, I recommend Mark Richard’s tales.
Although I am not sure these stories are fiction. Richard has lived a weird life – maybe some of these things happened to him or to people he knows. I have lived in Virginia for almost 35 years – weird things are normal around here. However, if Richard took this stories to a NYC editor and said they had occurred, I suspect that he would have been locked up in the nearest mental facility.
So, I will take the author’s word that these are fiction. That does not mean that truth is absent from these tales. There were times while I was reading that I stopped and thought about what was being said. The characters in these stories have experienced life, sometimes in ways that are hard. Sometimes in ways that are funny. I was always glad I had met these people.
If you like Southern literature, short stories, great writing or just want to be entertained, I recommend Mark Richard’s tales.
hilaritas's review
3.0
Richard is an assured writer, I'll give him that. This short collection of stories is deeply grooved with the cadences of his distinctive voice, which bubbles up from the bayou and the shorelines of the South full of poverty, hillbilly canny, and black humor. He's clearly referencing Faulkner in many ways, and several of the stories have a rambling, backwoods storyteller tone that is masking very controlled and technical use of language. However, that often capped my enjoyment in reading, as Richard's sentences often feel belabored or overworked in my opinion. It's hard to lose yourself in the worlds they create when the hand of the creator rests so heavy. Despite that, there's plenty to enjoy here, including strikingly macabre images, emotional melodrama wearing a mask of nonchalance, and humor aplenty. Definitely worth a read but not among my favorite collections. I'd peg this one at 3.5/5.
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