Squinting Over Water edition by Mary Kennedy Eastham Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : Squinting Over Water edition by Mary Kennedy Eastham Literature Fiction eBooks 
There are no perfect people here.
The characters in Squinting Over Water are you and me trying to make sense of things - good and bad - coming up with a Plan B when life gets messy.
One early reader said she would walk across continents to get to this book. These whimsical stories transformed her, made her believe once again in the true beauty and playfulness of life.
Mary doesn’t sugarcoat things. This is one talented writer. —Kurt Vonnegut, Author “Cat’s Cradle”, “Slaughterhouse-Five” and “Breakfast of Champions”
You can’t stop thinking about Eastham’s characters like 16 year old Rebecca Louise in After The Dance. Raised by her single mother, she longs to get to know John Monroe, her father, the man who wasn’t ready for parenthood when she was born but who now wants to meet her. And then there’s poor Harry in Cat’s Eyes, sipping cheap champagne, watching his mother patch together the few strands of hair on Husband Number Five’s head with those long, lean fingers of his childhood. Johanna Dane is losing the daylight in Delicato as she searches for her twin brother Mica, missing after a devastating flood in their small, sweet town of Dane’s Crossing. There are mood-tints bursting forth here, a poignant sense of time’s passage that Hollywood Indie sadcore crooner Lana Del Ray would magically rework into a dreamy song. These two creatives need to meet. —The San Francisco WE’RE NOT SKINNY BITCHES Book Club.
Squinting Over Water edition by Mary Kennedy Eastham Literature Fiction eBooks
There are eleven short stories in Squinting Over Water. I bought the took 6 months ago, read "What He Left" and teared up immediately. It's only 3 pages long, but in that short space, the author shows you love, loss, and a new beginning.I waited another few weeks to read "The Cat's Eyes" and was not disappointed. In it, a man makes peace with the mother that neglected him as a child.
"After the Dance" is about a father who walks away from his pregnant lover, only to return to meet his daughter when she is 16.
Many of the characters are so true to life that you will never forget them. It's amazing how a writer can develop such an attachment in stories that are so short.
I took my time reading, looking forward to savoring the next tale. It's finished now, and I'll revisit from time to time.
Highly recommended, even for those who think they don't like short stories.
Product details
|
Tags : Squinting Over Water - Kindle edition by Mary Kennedy Eastham. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Squinting Over Water.,ebook,Mary Kennedy Eastham,Squinting Over Water,Robertson Publishing,FICTION Literary,FICTION Short Stories
People also read other books :
- Watching for Mermaids David H Roper 9780615547640 Books
- Eves of Destruction edition by Roy Berelowitz Literature Fiction eBooks
- The Portrait of a Lady edition by Henry James Literature Fiction eBooks
- The Doctor Redemption Shadow Creek Montana Book 3 eBook Victoria James
- The Mother Manual of Children Diseases Illustrated edition by Charles West Professional Technical eBooks
Squinting Over Water edition by Mary Kennedy Eastham Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
Back when I was in college, my professor told me the time of short stories was over. I was never quite sure why. Now is the perfect time for short stories. We rush about multi-tasking with only minutes between errands or before falling asleep. Novels are becoming significantly shorter giving rise to the novella. The short story can convey an emotion or concept in a few pages. It can take you on a trip in minutes as opposed to hours. It doesn't require a great commitment the way a novel does. It is the literary quickie. It is not surprising Alice Munro won the Pulitzer because her stories resonate. The short story, the literary stepchild, is the part that shocks most people about Ms. Munro's win. With all that said, allow me to introduce you to a short story collection, Squinting over Water, by Mary Kennedy Eastham.
Ms. Eastham examines ordinary people caught in everyday dilemmas. She uses small snippets from their lives and shines a light on it. This illumination of the mundane turns it into an insight, an epiphany. It is also reminiscent of Rosamunde Pilcher who excelled at this the use of a moment to explain everything.
The stories deal with a seemingly frivolous mother who never has time for her own child, the conflict between divorce parents over a dress for their daughter, a brother and sister separated by a flood, a woman who wonders if she is pregnant and so much more. To say much more would give the stories away.
The lengths are short and easy to read. The prose is beautiful and has the feel of poetry or an artist painting a scene with words instead of oils. Please take time to indulge yourself with this small gem of a book.
Squinting over Water is more than a bundle of entertaining tales. It is the start of a conversation about the human condition and why we do the things, we do. Two thumbs up.
Mary has a beautiful voice that catches the ordinary moments of life and fills them alternatively with wonder and yearning and poignancy. You feel as if you recognize both yourself and others you know in the characters she brings so richly and vividly to life.
Great work Mary! Can't wait to read more of your stories.
You are amazing how you can engage all my senses using just words.
This short story collection has real strengths, with an impressive range of characters and situations. In "After the Dance," we meet a single mother who's aghast when her ex wanders back into her life, establishing himself with his previously unknown teenage daughter now that the work of raising her is mainly done. Where's the justice there? In an equally engaging tale, the narrator of "Soft Spots" tries to come to terms with being pregnant. Turns out she isn't, but whoopsie, her best friend is. There is much to chew on here. This is a book that lingers on the palate after the last page is read.
The reason these short stories are so engrossing is because Mary's characters are 100% genuine people that are going through real life problems and getting through them with grace and humility. They are the kind of people you want to be, and each story takes you into the heart of their everyday struggles, shows you how it feels to be in their situation, how to cope with it, and then how to deal. All the characters face their issues head-on and come out better for their pain. We can only wish to be so resilient. The stories make you feel as if you know each character intimately, and want the best for them.
Mary packs in a ton of character development and story into each one of these bites of life. It is quite amazing that so much goes on in such a small time, but the stories never feel rushed or forced. She has a true talent for telling us all we need to know in a brief span of words. I write short stories too, so I know how difficult it can be to tell a complete story in such limited space. Mary does it each and every time, and all of the stories leave you wanting more.
I would recommend this collection to anyone that wants to escape from their world, but not stray too far from the heart of truth and real human emotion. The stories sometimes leave you feeling sad, but hopeful, joyous but wary, and every emotion in between. One thing these stories all do, is give you a glimpse into the hardships and lives of everyday people that overcome some uncommonly trying times and are better for it. We are left hoping that if ever faced with similar circumstances, we too can rise above and beyond the pain, go on with our lives, and be a greater person for having gone through it, just like Mary's strong characters do.
There are eleven short stories in Squinting Over Water. I bought the took 6 months ago, read "What He Left" and teared up immediately. It's only 3 pages long, but in that short space, the author shows you love, loss, and a new beginning.
I waited another few weeks to read "The Cat's Eyes" and was not disappointed. In it, a man makes peace with the mother that neglected him as a child.
"After the Dance" is about a father who walks away from his pregnant lover, only to return to meet his daughter when she is 16.
Many of the characters are so true to life that you will never forget them. It's amazing how a writer can develop such an attachment in stories that are so short.
I took my time reading, looking forward to savoring the next tale. It's finished now, and I'll revisit from time to time.
Highly recommended, even for those who think they don't like short stories.
0 Response to "≡ [PDF] Squinting Over Water edition by Mary Kennedy Eastham Literature Fiction eBooks"
Post a Comment