2 out of 4 stars
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A review of Illustrated Short Fiction of William H Coles: 2000-2016 by William H Coles
Mr. Coles has given us an amazing range of stories. Of course, some are better than others. And some just leave a lot of questions. Others seem like sketches for longer stories.
Sister Carrie, for example, raises the question: Why was Jessie so angry? She was angry with Carrie. She was angry with the minister. She was angry with her boss. She was angry with Harold Lester from the first time she met him. But why? Even though that question hangs in the air through the entire novella, the story itself is very good.
Another example would be The Gift. In 1959 America, an out of wedlock mother who has a child born with the complications of thalidomide poisoning would have had a very difficult time. Society at that time was not kind to either mothers or children in that situation. But this is a feel good fairy tale, and is sweet in that way.
Homunculus is rendered as both a short story and a graphic novel. The graphic novel seems to be a story board for the actual story. This seems to be remake of a cautionary tale from long ago...be happy with what you have.
Red Dog is also rendered in both graphic novel and story. The graphic novel seemed to end differently. It did have a twist at the end and it was hard to decide what the author really meant.
Speaking of the Dead and War of the Flies were nice wholesome stories a young reader would enjoy. But Crossing Over, The Bear and the Golden Flute would be for more mature readers. All of these stories were complete in themselves, whereas Facing Grace with Gloria, The Activist and On the Road to Yazzo City were not fleshed out and could benefit from more structure, detail and description .
In Gatemouth Willie the author tried to write in dialect, but failed to be consistent. It was a distraction. Captain Wither's Wife , 13 Nudes and Curse of a Lonely Heart also fall into the category of odd stories that needed more detail.
Overall, I give this book a rating of 2 out of 4. It seems more like a collection of random thoughts, ideas that could be better stories, even novellas or books. The work as a whole seems unfinished. It seems similar to a sketch book instead of a fully rendered painting.
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Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles: 2000-2016
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