A very unique telling of the stories of a variety ...
588545
A very unique telling of the stories of a variety of saints.  Fr. Martin discusses them in terms of their impact on his life rather than the typical recitation of their histories.
4682874
Such a broad range among these stories, fantasy, horror and sccence fiction. All seem to have more than you expect, some have a gentle twist of the knife others rent you apart. A unique voice and a compelling read.
2648917
A very different way to tell a tale. Interesting in a good way.
4908178
This collection of stories is very unique and different from anything I've ever read before! It's an easy and light read, but at the same time very deep and philosophical. Katerina's imagination doesn't have limits! The characters of the stories are very diverse and some would say even crazy. They capture your attention right from the beginning till the end. I'd definitely recommend this book to the readers who are not afraid of a different perspective, something dark and extraordinary.
4377899
A beautiful and distinctive voice characterizes these stories -- the telling is the tale, and what a rich and resonating tale it is.
2208444
There are thirteen stories in this book, all very different some I really liked and a few I didn't like as well but all and all a book worth reading.
3868325
The separate stories each curiously unfinished in mesmerizing ways allow one's imagination to carry them on to a variety of conclusions.
4820223
I love to read books about different cultures and people. I enjoy learning about the differences and similarities I share with them. This collection of short stories is varied. There are some happy endings, sad endings, chilling endings and no endings. Some of the people involved were good and some were downright evil. The author spent most of his adult life in Brazil and these stories take place in the various places where he lived.

There are sixteen short stories and they are fiction but feel like they could be real. I usually read stories that have a definite ending or at least I have a good feel for where it's going by the end. Some of these stories ended abruptly, and I felt like there was more, so I had to determine my own ending to the story.

The stories are great to discuss since they deal with human issues, like love, loss, greed, envy and revenge so they made me think. Overall, this is an interesting read. If you like reading about other cultures and people, this is a book you will enjoy!

I received a copy for review. My opinion is 100% my own.
3325829
I found this collection of short stories by Mr. Hanna to be written from an odd sense of humor, but each is unique and held my attention. I enjoyed them all in one way or another, especially the first story which the book was obviously titled for, "A Second Less Capable Head." The book is an exploration of some of the darker parts of human nature, and the author does this in a very creative and effective manner. I found myself stimulated by all the various stories that I read in this collection. This was a departure from the typical kind of literature that I choose to read, but I have been trying different things lately in the hopes that being a more avid reader will make me a better writer, and this book is one that will stay with me for awhile and has already been a part of some great discussions with some of my friends. I recommend it.
98520
I'm not sure anymore how I came across this unusual book of stories, but I'm glad I did. They are a bit odd at times (odd in a good sense of the word) and have some wonderfully quirky characters. There are three rounds of stories, each one culminating in a Christmas tale; the Christmas tales are the best of the bunch. The stories are told in a bumbling and loveable way, more as a storyteller might tell them than as a writer might write them. That, however, only adds to their down-home charm.

The stories reveal the best and the worst of any community, particularly small, devoutly religious communities. From the introduction one can infer that they are at least semi-autobiographical, stories of the painful childhood of one storyteller and writer. However, the stories are full of hope and the hope comes mostly from the characters on the margin of society. In particular, there is Gletha, the person that the community by-and-large considers to be unsavory and clearly not a "christian" by their standards. Gletha, in turn, lives with grace and love in the midst of the shunning that comes to her from the "good" people of the community, caring for the child whose adoptive parents can barely see beyond their own inner turmoil and mental illness.

This is a great book, one that is overlooked and unknown. It is worth at least one read-through. For myself, I keep it by my bedside and over the years I have read most of the stories numerous times. The pages of the Christmas stories reveal a wear and tear that are testament to those many readings. I wish that more people would find this book.
3270882
A talented group of writers presenting a variety of imaginative stories on the topics of Love, Loss and Adventure.
1215970
As one of the characters in "Late Early Man" says, "I'm more Drama than Documentary." As a reviewer I seldom read fiction and almost never read collections of short stories and that puts me squarely in the Documentary, nonfiction, non-drama part of the quote, so these tales by Ralph Lombreglia were a pleasant surprise for me. As an ex-documentary filmmaker from Boston I particularly enjoyed the "Late Early Man" because of the subject and the Boston locale that is so perfectly captured.
 The author has a unique way of summarizing feelings and events and seeing both the truth and humor in them.  After reading these stories the reader will never again forget the adventures in birthing that came while filming the "Great Power Sander Races."
 All of these stories had previously been published in magazines such as "The New Yorker" and "The Atlantic" which pretty much guarantees that the author had something useful to say in a highly professional and entertaining manner.
 This collection is nine fun reads. And the reader may see themselves as well as their friends, family and co-workers in some of the story portraits.
843072
This is an interesting collection of short stories from around the world. The author obviously knows her locations well as evidenced in her descriptions. What really stands out is her portrayal of human emotions and foibles. From three bitchy women playing one upmanship against each other to a brush with the surreal as an artist seeks his phantom muse you will be entertained by the inventiveness that has gone into the tales. Deception,love and a curious case of a snake, an unwanted suitor and a hero to the rescue and you have an eclectic mix of stories to enjoy. This author delves deeply into the human psyche and manages to portray it in her work with aplomb.
3995142
I love that this is a collection of stories from all over. It is not just the regular Brothers Grimm and HC Anderson there are stories from China, Japan, South Africa, Indonesia...and so on. We are doing a world geography and culture study in our homeschool this year and I have found a story for many of the places we have highlighted.
221290
I really enjoyed this collection and I liked that though there was a loose theme of different kinds of love, the stories were all vastly different.

The stories are all well written and though they are short, you don't feel like anything has been sacrificed to fit the short story format.

There were two absolute stand out stories for me for completely different reasons. The first of which is the title story, The Last Star, I found this story absolutely fascinating. It's about the two last sentient beings in the universe watching as the last star dies and they're thinking about their lives and how they spent them and wondering about what will happen next. The end was also extremely satisfying.

The second one that stood out was Down in Flames, this was so very, very difficult to read for two different reasons. The first being the memory of 9/11 and just how many lives were lost and how much it has changed and affected life. The other reason is the personal loss of the woman in the story, it's heartbreaking going through what she goes through as she does. What makes it more poignant is that from what I understand from the annotations is that this is a true story. I find reading anything of this kind very painful and very rarely make it through a story or article about this kind of thing, so the fact I made it the whole way through says a lot about the quality of the writing to keep me reading.

The only story I felt didn't fit was The Idiot's Guide To Writing Workshops, not because it was bad as it is incredibly insightful and amusing, but because I personally don't feel that it feels the theme or tone of the rest of the stories. I did enjoy this story but I would have preferred it in a different collection.

Overall a great collection and one that covers some important topics.
2745218
I very much enjoyed this collection of short stories that all have an unexpected twist. I usually am not a huge fan of short stories as I have a hard time getting into them, but Daniela's style hooked me into each and every story. Living in Switzerland, I especially enjoyed the fact that a few stories take place here. I was especially touched by the first story - I could feel the man's despair and suffering and actually had tears in my eyes when I reached the end of the story and the synchronicity it reveals. I loved that all the stories are so different, yet they all share an element of asking you to suspend belief and to step into a world where anything is possible. A beautiful collection of short stories I will certainly come back to.
260459
The book has several short stories some of which relate to historical events, but twist them into a unique way. The author even includes the first story written, Falls of Fate as an added treat for the reader, in case you didn't purchase it!!!