Wednesday, September 26, 2007

The Secrets of a Fire King

Let me start out by saying that Kim Edwards has the potential to be one of my favorite authors. The Memory Keeper's Daughter is in my top ten, and if I assigned actual numbers to all those books, it would be very high on that list. That being said, I hate short stories. Hate may be a strong word, but I guess what I am feeling is that I can't get invested in short stories. I wish that each one of these stories would evolve into a novel of their own. Each one is so unusual, set in exotic locations and moments in time, but again, at around 20 pages per story, it's not enough for me to really care. I found myself skimming most of the stories toward the end waiting for one to spark a bigger interest. But I think I am just ready to move on to a full-length novel.

Kim Edwards is truly a poetic writer though, so if I had to pick a favorite from this collection, it would Spring, Mountain, Sea. The story is about a man who brings home a war bride and the struggles that she has to endure in America, such as not speaking the language, the climate, and deep loneliness. I connected the most with this story and really wish it was longer. In the meantime, I will eagerly await another novel by Kim.

1 comment:

  1. I find it embarassing that you not only blog more often than I do - but you have read an entire book between each post. Keep up the great work!

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