Review - The Acorn Stories by Duane Simolke
My Copy of the Book
Year Published: 2007
Genre: Short Stories
Blurb:
Visit Acorn, Texas, for the German festival, a high school football game, homemade apple pie from the Turner Street Café, and the cool shade of a hundred-year-old oak tree. Meet dedicated teachers, shrewd business owners, closeted gays, and concerned neighbors. See how lives become intertwined in moments of humor or tragedy. Just be careful, because in Acorn, the sky is always falling.
From romantic comedy to razor-sharp satire to moments of quiet reflection, these tales explore the humor, drama, secrets, and scandals of a small town.
About the Author:
Duane Simolke (pronounced "Dwain Smoky"). Education: Belmont University (B.A., '89, Nashville, TN), Hardin-Simmons University (M.A., '91, Abilene, TX), and Texas Tech University (Ph.D., '96, Lubbock, TX), all with a major in English.
Writing published in nightFire, Mesquite, Caprock Sun, Midwest Poetry Review, International Journal on World Peace, and many other publications. Author or co-author of the following books. The Acorn Stories. Stein, Gender, Isolation, and Industrialism: New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio. Holding Me Together. Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure. The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer. The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure.
Winner, Allbooks Reviewers Choice Award and four StoneWall Society Pride in the Arts Awards.
Connect with the Author:
Twitter: Duane Simolke Twitter
Author Website: Duane Simolke Author Website
Buy the Book:
Amazon: Amazon Purchase Link
My Take on the Book:
I'll start off on the story that I thought was the best out of all the stories in this book: Mirrors: A Blackmail story. This one at first didn't make sense, but then everything came together as the story went on. This was one of the stories that could have potential to become a full story in itself.
Here are some more that I enjoyed:
Keeping A Secret: I was curious as to whether Kevin changed his ways - this could have become a full length story.
Come with Me was a bit of a strange one, one I thought could develop into a full story of its own.
With Mae, I thought that the love story of Cleburne and Mae would have made a very nice full length story.
And here are some other decent mentions:
In Acorn, I found that Regina and Dirk had a strange relationship.
It felt like Flip, Turn didn't serve any purpose other than Ian reminiscing about memories.
Knock seemed like quite a sad story.
The last one that I'm going to mention, in Your Daughter, it sounds as if Gretchen needs a break from her life.
Last Word:
Overall, I gave this book a three star rating - there were a lot of stories that I enjoyed, then there were those that were decent or those that didn't quite catch my attention. It's been quite a while since I've read a collection of short stories.
Enjoy,
Carmen.
Connect with the Author:
Twitter: Duane Simolke Twitter
Author Website: Duane Simolke Author Website
Buy the Book:
Amazon: Amazon Purchase Link
My Take on the Book:
I'll start off on the story that I thought was the best out of all the stories in this book: Mirrors: A Blackmail story. This one at first didn't make sense, but then everything came together as the story went on. This was one of the stories that could have potential to become a full story in itself.
Here are some more that I enjoyed:
Keeping A Secret: I was curious as to whether Kevin changed his ways - this could have become a full length story.
Come with Me was a bit of a strange one, one I thought could develop into a full story of its own.
With Mae, I thought that the love story of Cleburne and Mae would have made a very nice full length story.
And here are some other decent mentions:
In Acorn, I found that Regina and Dirk had a strange relationship.
It felt like Flip, Turn didn't serve any purpose other than Ian reminiscing about memories.
Knock seemed like quite a sad story.
The last one that I'm going to mention, in Your Daughter, it sounds as if Gretchen needs a break from her life.
Last Word:
Overall, I gave this book a three star rating - there were a lot of stories that I enjoyed, then there were those that were decent or those that didn't quite catch my attention. It's been quite a while since I've read a collection of short stories.
Enjoy,
Carmen.
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