4 out of 4 stars
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Illustrated Short Stories of William .H. Cole is a collection of Thirty short stories, two graphic novels and two novellas. The stories are of varying lengths with the shortest being less than two pages. The themes of the story include love, grief, hope, death and generally simple themes we are familiar with.
The author a very skilled story teller wraps simple themes in Wide and deep characters, powerful descriptions and amazing imagery that is worthy of note. The author takes us through all sorts of settings from busy cities to country side farm houses to woods. He displays vast knowledge of many things and therefore makes the book a readers delight.
Some of the stories are easier to read than others, because of the broad varieties of the stories. Some of them contain graphic imagery that is not suited for all readers. I believe that liking or disliking any of the stories is a matter of individual taste and it might not be easy to agree that any particular story is good or bad or that one is the best out of it all. I certainly enjoyed some stories more than others and would like to know which stories other readers prefer
One of my personal favourites is a story called Suchin's escape, a story about a young girl Suchin who had been kidnapped and her struggle to escape her captors who used her for sexual activities. I admired her will to be free, her courage and determination till the end. Other stories I liked include: The Amish Girl, Speaking of The Dead, The Necklace, 13 nudes of Edward Goings, Dr Greiner's Day in Court, and Sister Carrie(the novella).
There were however some stories which I didn't consider personal favourites but still found them unique. Stories such as Homuncculus a story of a circus dwarf Didi who fell in love with a fellow circus performer Lazlo. The cliffhanger at the end allows readers to form their own opinions about what should have been and what shouldn't or even how they would finish the story. This story is also one of the two graphic novels, the we one a story called Reddog, a story about a prisoner who has been sentenced and and an investigator who is trying to find out the truth about his conviction and save a life.
I rate this story 4 out of 4 stars because I could not find any notable errors, either in the story or in the editing. The writer is a great story teller able to create all sorts of amazing characters with such depth and emotions and all evoke many feelings in the reader.The illustrations in the book also add a really nice touch to it. William. H. Cole's novels are one I definitely look forward to reading more of.
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Illustrated Short Fiction of William H. Coles: 2000-2016
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