Review by Yvonne Monique -- Tales of the 70's by D.Done

[Yvonne Monique]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Tales of the 70's" by D.Done.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Tales of the 70’s by D. Done is a collection of seven short stories and a novella that the author wrote over 40 years ago. The stories have no connection between them and touch on a wide variety of topics. The setting of most stories is San Francisco. The reader will be introduced to many different characters, such as Zhen Hua, a Chinese bookstore owner who just found out that his wife is seriously ill, or Mr. Griley, a councilman who goes in search of the young man he has been dreaming of in order to escape his unhappy marriage. Some tales are funny, such as “The Cat Burglars” in which Lee and Mark try to steal an ocelot, and other tales will make the reader empathize with the protagonist, such as “Mack the knife” in which Mack tries to flirt with the waitress of a bar in downtown San Francisco. The book finishes with the novella “Yesteryears Snows.” This story describes the surrealistic experiences of Jeff, a young man who lives a life that is full of drugs, sex, and infidelity.

I liked the fact that the stories evoked different feelings in me, such as happiness, laughter, anger, or disgust. Some tales are thought-provoking, whereas others are just a light read. My favorite story was “The Cat Burglars.” Although it might seem impossible, this tale is actually based on a true story, published in the Oakland Tribune in the 1970s. I could also relate to the “Three Card Shuffle,” a story that reminded me of the hustlers that trick tourists into losing money in the tourist resorts of Mallorca, the island I live on. It was fun to read that the same fraudulent tactics are used in other parts of the world. All tales have a convenient length, and the format is ideal for people who do not have time to read long books.

However, I must mention a couple of things that I disliked. The tale “Blind San Franciscans” has a very abrupt, unsatisfactory ending. Although I understand that the ending is a reference to the title, I felt that many questions were left unanswered. Also, the book has a lot of errors. I found ten errors within the first twenty pages. Most of these errors were punctuation errors and spacing issues.

Considering the above-mentioned comments, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I cannot give the perfect rating because of the number of errors, but I do not want to give a lower rating because I enjoyed most of the stories. The book just needs another round of thorough editing.

Some stories have quite a lot of profanity and descriptions of sexual activity or drug use. Therefore, I do not recommend this book to young adults or to people who usually avoid controversial subjects. I recommend this book to people who enjoy short stories, who like to be surprised by unusual topics, and who can relate to life in the ‘70s. As the author says: “This is a book from a different era.”

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Tales of the 70's
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[Joyful17]

The Cat Burglers piqued my interest. Short stories can be quite entertaining. Thanks for a detailed review.

[NetMassimo]

This seems an anthology that contains diverse stories about controversial subjects, with only San Francisco in common for some of them. Thank you for your great review!

[Raluca_Mihaila]

The fact that the stories made you feel different feelings is a good thing. It seems like an interesting collection, and it would be interesting to discover life in a different era. Great review!

[Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala]

It seems like readers are spoilt for choice in this book with a variety of stories. Thanks for a detailed review!

[Mariana Figueira]

I don't like abrupt endings, and usually don't get along with books about short stories, so this might not be for me. Thanks for the informative review!

[Rayah Raouf]

I have noticed this book before, so it's great to read such a good review on it. Other than the errors, it seems quite interesting. Thank you

[Sou Hi]

Thanks for your interesting review. I agree that while most of the stories are pleasant, some of them are quite obscure and confusing. The messy editing makes it even worse.

[MsH2k]

This sounds like an interesting group of stories. I probably won’t read this book, but I enjoyed experiencing it through your review. Thanks for your lovely assessment!

[AvidBibliophile]

Bookstore owners, councilmen, and stolen ocelots?! What a uniquely intriguing mix of short story themes. Thank you for providing such a nice analysis of this one!

[Mtibza eM]

Thank you for sharing such a beautiful review, I will definitely check this book out.

[Jagiine]

Thanks for your review! It's nice that the book was overall so enjoyable, though the one story's ending wasn't great.

[Nicholus Schroeder]

Hope I get to read this book soon, great review!

[Marcel Cantu]

This sounds like a unique read! I like the idea of the different short stories compiled together. It is too bad that some of the stories arent well finished.

[AbhyarnaAman]

I am sure the author would send send the book for another round of proofreading. look forward to reading the edited version. great review!!!