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ClareR (6256 KP) rated Florida in Books

Nov 2, 2018

Florida

Lauren Groff | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry

6.7

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

Very enjoyable short stories!

This collection of short stories really surprised me. I'm not usually a fan of this type of story (short!), but I seem to be reading more and more of them lately, and I'm beginning to change my mind. Some of these stories are set in Florida, where the natural world seems to be a central theme: uncontrollable, untameable. Two stories are set in France, and another in Brazil. Again, the central characters appear to be in situations where they have no control.
I really enjoyed the stories 'Dogs Go Wolf' where two young girls are abandoned on an island and left to fend for themselves; 'Eyewall', where a woman decides to stay in her home during a hurricane (which I hope never to experience!); 'Above and Below' which tells the story of a young woman who fails her course at university, leaves and becomes homeless. This last story was frankly frightening, as it portrayed how easy it is to become homeless, how little support there is, and how people can become estranged from their families.
A really good collection.

Kudos

Christmas Treats

Enid Blyton

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Book

Enid Blyton's timeless collection of Christmas short stories make an ideal gift and are perfect for...

Superman the Silver Age Newspaper Dailies: Volume 3: 1963-1966

Jerry Siegel and Wayne Boring

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Book

* The third volume of the Superman Silver Age daily newspaper strips presents the never-before...

Forgotten Fitzgerald: Echoes of a Lost America

F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sarah Churchwell

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Book

While F. Scott Fitzgerald was writing the novels we remember him for today, he was also publishing...

Al Jazeera English

News and Education

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App

Al Jazeera for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch brings you curated top stories, live and on-demand video...

Maha Cartoon TV XD

1.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

YouTube Channel

Maha Cartoon TV XD publish very frequently Hindi cartoon stories for kids and teens. Hindi Cartoon...

EmersonRose (320 KP) rated Running Plain Sight & Other Stories in Books

Nov 20, 2019

Running in Plain Sight is a collection of short stories by author Charles Butts. The book is named after the first story in the collection. The first story tells the life story of Leander Sills JR. When he was ten years old tragedy struck, and he was forced to go on the run. The story gives glimpses into the rest of his life as he deals with hardship, kindness, and forgiveness. These are themes that are carried over into the other three stories: If All Minds Are Clear, Home Follows, and A Balanced Imbalance. Each is centered on the life of a man who is struggling with his own mistakes or the mistakes of others but grows and finds peace in life. Beginning with Running in Pain Sight was an excellent choice for the first story in the collection because not only does it do a wonderful job of setting the themes in the collection, but that story, in particular, has an incredibly strong and powerful hook from the very beginning.
What I found most captivating about each of these stories were the characters. Both the main characters and the characters around them are flawed people, otherwise known as real people. No one is perfect in these stories, but that makes them easier to be sympatric to. What makes them strong characters is that they take responsibility for their actions. Even though the short stories really only give us glimpses into the lives of the characters that live within them, their flaws and character growth make them deeply developed characters.
Charles R. Butts Jr. published this collection in 2017 and published his first book, For Only A Season in 2016. These stories are quick reads but beautiful and powerful stories. Butts’s writing style is easy and often conversational as you are in the heads of the main characters. However, the simplicity makes the voices stronger, and the meaning of the stories shine through. I greatly enjoyed reading these stories and would highly recommend them.