Heart-work; Short Stories
Title of the book: Heart-work; short storiesAuthor: Roberta Silman
Publisher: Campden Hill Books
Publishing Date: 2024 (short stores 1977-2024)
ISBN: 979-8-9859260-2-6
Summary:
IN THIS SECOND COMPELLING COLLECTION of stories Roberta Silman explores the intricacies of love, the infinite surprises that exist within families, and the yearning for guidance that can result in great leaps of the imagination on the part of her passionate and resilient characters. As she did in her first prize-winning collection, Blood Relations, Silman has created a group of unforgettable people who have something to tell us about how to negotiate the often dangerous shoals of daily life.
Silman’s understanding of the bonds that create fierce loyalties, her ability to see into her characters’ minds in uncanny ways, and her grasp of the loneliness that is part of the human condition are revealed in these stories, which have appeared in The Atlantic, McCall’s, The Virginia Quarterly Review, and The American Scholar, as well as having been read at Symphony Space and NPR, cited by Narrative Magazine, and included in various anthologies. This collection also includes three new stories.
As Silman reveals the power of memory, the secrets that abound in families, and the amazing stretches the mind can achieve, you will be not only enchanted and delighted, but deeply moved by these wonderfully inspired characters and the people they encounter.
Part I
Here we go again, Alice
My Chilean Playwright
Tightrope
Without Wendy
Alphabet of Joy
/Part II
On the way to Courmayeur
Angel visits
Bed and Breakfast
Requiem for a checker
Labyrinth of Love
Touchstone
Part III
Mooning after Rembrandt
Heart-work
Scent of Lilacs
The Sugar Road
Her father's voice
Author Info:
(From goodreads)
(From goodreads)
N/A
Personal Opinion:
Reading these stories is akin to having a warm and comfortable blanket covering my body within my home on a cold wintry evening. There is something beautiful and hypnotic about the writing and the stories and comfort one can derive from them. The stories focus on daily life and moments within an ordinary life, be it the decision to reminisce about a lost sister to a wife, or a family traveling through Europe for vacation during the worst time they could have picked (this particular family will be featured in a lot of the short stories), or beginnings or endings of an affair. I think a lot of stories are about endings and transitions as well as examining mundane moments that can ultimately become catalysts for change. The stories also vary and were published from 1970s until 2010s. The structure is a bit puzzling because they weren't published in order (first story is from 1988, and second was unpublished) I definitely need to figure out the structure, perhaps it refers to youthful travails and then moves on to middle age problems?
This was given for review
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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