Reviews

The Moth Presents Occasional Magic: True Stories about Defying the Impossible by Catherine Burns

Only show reviews with written explanations

fbroom's review

4.0

I thought their first collection was stronger but nonetheless it was enjoyable especially the stories in the second half (I was a little bored in the first half).
Stories that I really enjoyed where Love Wins by Jim Obergefell, The Book War by Wang Ping, The Patriots’ Game by Ali Abdullatif, True Justice by Sheila Calloway, My post nuclear family by Andrew Solomon, A moment in Silence by Leeland Melvin, The freedom riders and me by Barbara Collins Bowie, Curses by Jon Bennett, Real men don’t rob banks by Liel Leibovitz and Can I get a witness? By Jeni De la o.

Part 1: Put Your curry down, sweetheart
- Quiet Fire - Phyllis Marie Bowdwin
- Real men don’t rob banks - Liel Leibovitz
- Opposing Forces - Martha Ruiz-Perilla
- Me and Mamma vs. Christmas - Peter Aguero
- Theory of Change - Journey Jamison
- Before Fergus - Lynn Ferguson
- Spicy - David Montgomry

Part 2: the pain of the jump is nothing
- What I wore to my divorce - Faith Salie
- Leaving Baghdad - Abbas Mousa
- The value of words - Maris Blechne
- How to say it - Bess Stillman
- Have you met him yet - David Litt
- C’est La Vie - Terrance Flynn
- The Magic of Maggie - Larry Kerr

Part 3: the place is bold, this place is brave
- Until the real you shows up - Rosanne Cash
- Surviving Comrade Stalin - Victor Levenstein
- Outdoor Camp - Vin Shambry
- I know it by heart - Emma Gordon
- Living in the extreme - Ann Daniels
- The haunted freezer - George Dawes Green
- When the heart is full - Fatou Wurie

Part 4: On the other side of that wall
- The freedom riders and me - Barbara Collins Bowie
- Curses - Jon Bennett
- Bearing Witness - D. Parvaz
- And how does that make you feel - Dan Kennedy
- A moment in silence - Leeland Melvin
- Seven shades of blue - Beth Nielson Chapman

Part 5: It’s messy but it works
- My post nuclear family - Andrew Solomon
- You can come back - Joshua Shenk
- Our Normal - Mary Theresa Archbold
- Reclaiming Fear - Magda szubanski
- The junkie and the monk - Mike Destafano
- Can I get a witness? Jeni De la o
- Pastels and Crayons - Aleeza Kazmi

Part 6:
- True Justice - Sheila Calloway
- Jump from a plane - Ana del Castillo
- Charlie Ravioli - Adam Gopnik
- Operation Babylift - Jason Trieu
- Gaggy’s Blessing - Krista Tippett
- Inside Joke - Ophira Eisenberg
- The Patriots’ Game - Ali Abdullatif

Part 7: we’ll come with lions
- The care package - Lenard Lee Smith
- Are we there yet? - Abney Mathayo Kucha
- Honku - Aaron Naparstek
- Love wins - Jim Obergefell
- The Book War - Wang Ping

keichler's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Some stories are better than others, but as a whole I really liked it. They were all clearly written to be spoken, so sometimes that makes the writing less polished. There are definitely a few stories that have stuck with me and I think about fairly often.

eghimire_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Again and again, The Moth touches my heart and I have tears streaming down my face as i write this. In moments where it seems that there's no reason to try to go on, I'm reminded of the beauty that lies within the human existence. These stories were unbelievable and unforgetable.

lavenderlazarus's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I'd heard of The Moth before, but only in passing. I didn't know what to expect from this book, but it looked interesting so I decided to dive in without looking up any more details and I'm glad I did. It reminded me a bit of reading Chicken Soup For The Soul books that I used to pick up from the library, but it's much more refined and diverse. The stories come in all forms. Some are happy, some are sad, some are funny, some are heartbreaking.

This is the first collection of non-fiction that I've read in a long time and what stuck me the most was how differently each story was told. It was easy to see the different voices, even in the written form. This book, then, came at a particularly good time as I was trying to figure out what a voice means in fiction.

seaglanz's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I can never get enough of Moth stories. From seeing them live, to the podcast, and in book form, I love them all. This collection was no exception. Great stories, tons of emotions, a great read.