Review by Hopeless_Squish -- Illustrated Short Fiction o...

Hopeless_Squish · Post by **Hopeless_Squish** » 30 Jun 2020, 10:10

[Following is a volunteer review of "Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles: 2000-2016" by William H. Coles.]

4 out of 4 stars

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The book Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles: 2000-2016 by William H. Coles is a collection of short stories ranging in genre and length. Each different narrative begins with at least one illustration pertaining to the story. These illustrations are by Peter Healy and can be a scene straight from the story, or something more abstract that still fits the tale’s theme. The book contains stories about love and loss, betrayal, crime, mystery, and a range of other things. I found all of these stories unique and easy to follow, giving the reader just enough detail so that they know what is going on without bogging them down in the specifics of the short story. Overall, I give this book 4 out of 4 stars.

As I was reading these short stories I noticed that they were not stories I had heard before; it is clear when a story has the same plotline as another, but the stories I read were unique and original. I believe this would appeal to audiences who like short, unpredictable tales that may leave you wondering what happens next, only for the next new story to start. The range of genres means the audience would find something in the book that they like, but I feel those who enjoy slice of life books would enjoy this collection the most. There are a few stories that touch on child trafficking and abuse, however, which may be too much for some readers. These stories are not very graphic in nature, but there is enough detail so the reader knows exactly what is going on.

One thing I liked about this book was that there wasn’t a certain number of pages each story had to reach. Some stories were only a page long, but the reader doesn't know that until they get to the end of the page and expect more from the story. This made reading the collection much more interesting because there was no telling just how short the story was. It is because of this that I am giving the book 4 stars and not 3.

One thing I disliked about the book was the way some of the illustrations did not seem to make sense, even after reading the stories a few times. Some images took deciphering to make sense of, while the meaning of other images I could never find. This is not to say that every reader will have the same issue, but it was a let down to read the stories and not understand the pictures that go along with them. This is not significant enough to give the book 3 stars instead of 4.

The book was professionally edited, and I came across one or two things that could be considered grammar errors; the different dialects that are used in this book account for some of the errors because that is how the character thinks and speaks. As a whole, this book is a great read and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy a little bit of everything in their books.

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Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles: 2000-2016
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Alexandros92 · Post by **Alexandros92** » 06 Jul 2020, 08:59

Great review, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts

Jyockel08 · Post by **Jyockel08** » 06 Jul 2020, 09:09

I’m currently reading the same author and I absolutely love his style of writing, but I agree about the illustrations. All of a sudden there just seems to be one and I don’t quite understand it. Great review!

bookreviewmi1111 · Post by **bookreviewmi1111** » 06 Jul 2020, 15:35

I do not think I can rate this book anything less than 4/4, honestly. The book got my emotion and attention, and now it is one of the books I like the most so far. Thanks for your opinions!