Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


A Dog’s Tale by Mark Twain

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on August 6, 2012
Posted in Short Story Collection Read in 2012  | 3 Comments

I’ve been extremely busy this summer and haven’t been around for Short Story Monday for awhile. This weekend however, I have taken a bit of a breather. What better author to read on a lazy summer’s day but Mark Twain? So, I picked up A Dog’s Tale from good old Project Gutenberg.



Aileen is a dog who is taken from her mother to go live with a human family. Her mother told her that it was a dog’s duty. She also told Aileen that if any of her new family was ever in danger, that it was her job to protect them.



That day came when the nursery caught on fire and she rescued the baby. However, when the father saw her dragging the baby in the hallway, he didn’t realize the nursery was on fire. He beat poor Aileen and she had a permanent limp. After, the man realized his mistake and he and the family told everyone what a hero she was.



That would have been a great story but Twain needed to get his point about animal cruelty across. I can’t say what happens without giving away spoilers but it was very sad and disturbing.



This story does have some of Mark Twain’s signature humor in it, especially at the beginning but then it got dark and had a message, similar to slavery but concerning the treatment of animals. I see much similarity actually. I think A Dog’s Tale should be part of middle school or high school curriculum. Highly recommended!

Short Story Monday is hosted by John at The Book Mine Set.



Tweet

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Lingering Tides is a collection of short stories that take place all over the world.  Places such as Canada, U.S., India, and Japan.  Most of the characters are from India and focus on the immigrant experience in new lands.  The characters are all unique and complex, yet seem somewhat familiar.


Viswanathan uses humor and empathy to really bring her characters to life.  Her writing brings author,  Jhumpa Lahiri to my mind. Her poetic prose is beautiful and descriptive, place in the reader right in each story.  Her descriptions bring out the lushness of the surrounding such as in India in the story Brittle, my favorite story in the collection.  In Brittle a young girl’s relationship with the elderly couple that lives next door to her grandmother’s house.  She learns that everything is always as it seems, especially to a little girl.  You can read my review, here.

This short story collection should not be passed up.  Highly recommended!


5/5

Short Story Monday is hosted by John at The Book Mine Set.


Tweet

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

In his collection of short stories, Hayes writes about quirky and maladjusted characters.  Many, if not all of the main characters have a mental illness and some seem to manage day to day better than others.  Hayes used wit and everyday settings to draw the reader in.


In some of the stories the characters just seem a bit on the quirky side, like Adam in the first story, A Feel For America.  Adam is the head of the teachers in an ESL school in Taiwan.  The teachers room together in an apartment and let just say, life gets interesting there. 

I reviewed the title story, The Maladjusted, here.  In this story it is apparent right away that Mike has a mental illness.  If fact, he tells just about everyone he meets.  The difference about him and the character in the other stories is that he has a support network.  Most of the other characters don’t seem to know they are having problems that are different from the average person or maybe they aren’t so different.  There are many people who go through life with some sort of mental illness who don’t know it and don’t get treated.


 

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories by Canadian author Derek Hayes. I loved the quirky characters.  Some of the stories made me cringe a bit but as a social worker in mental health I have seen my fair share of people who seem maladjusted.  We all have our quirks though, every one of us.

4.5/5


I received this book for my honest opinion from Derek Hayes.

Short Story Monday is hosted by John at The Book Mine Set.



Tweet

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.