If you read "Pieces" got to read this one...
594704
Simply put, it gives you the rest of the story.  It shows you how James "held on" even after rehab.  How he managed everyday life, work, heartbreak and finally his greatest loss.  Must read!
4750066
It had the feel of being a "whodunit." Not the easiest language to understand, and not a very long book either, I got through it all in one sitting. I was fascinated by the creative examination of human thoughts and drives. It's worth a read, but be patient with it
732903
...but, this one is worth the read.  D.I. Norris has done a fantastic job of utilizing a verbal paint brush to create brilliant word imagery.  These are delightful stories, sure to please the most discriminating reader.  I had forgotten just how much fun a good short story can be.  Well done!<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Escaping-Innocence-A-Story-of-Awakening/dp/1440464359/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Escaping Innocence: A Story of Awakening</a>
821199
Pieces of me is a good foundation novel. I found the writing style quite engaging but not overwhelmingly so, It was an interesting read into the mind of the depressed girl who had been left shattered by life's ugly experiences in her prime. However her strength comes through as she fights through it and is able to cope with it in the end..
4159339
Once you start to put the pieces of the story together, you won't be able to stop reading. I wish there was more.
369119
A hard-hitting novel that leaves you feeling happy that love wins in the end... But at a high cost.

Abby is a woman torn from a broken childhood and marriage, and juggling raising her children. Just when it seems all is lost, along come two men who appear right for her...But she must choose only one. The book hits home even for those who personally didn't experience this sort of family life. I knew people who suffered as Abby, and this book reminded me of what those persons went through. At the time I was too young to understand their pain, but this book makes the reader wonder how close the author is to her character she created. It's that compelling! 'Broken Pieces' is full of drama, pain, misunderstanding, distrust, and trust, and how love in the end wins, but there are those who suffer from the choices made by those closest to them.

Romance novels are not my top priority books to read, but the ones I have read left me wondering why have I chosen to miss out on such books. For instance, Nora Roberts' 'Montana Sky' is one of my favorites. I read it years ago and kept it in my personal library. Now I can tell you Martha Perez' 'Broken Pieces' is among a favorite of mine. It's a book that triumphs in its own right, and shows how love perseveres regardless how much we suffer.
4710100
Shoot. I wondered why I was buying this in parts. Maybe I should just buy the whole thing. Now I have to make that decision because, dang it, I have GOT to read the next part.
4135174
I was sorry to close the book on the last story today. For friends of mine here who gravitate toward the literary, this is the real thing. These pieces are more like riffs in a jazz composition than plot-driven stories, but there is a voice that carries through all of them that I wanted to keep listening to. Some of my favorites are the ones that sound like memories: May Day, The Rubber Penguin, Chunks of Wall. Urban Legend is one of my favorites of the longer pieces, bitter and brilliant and funny at the same time. The outstanding piece here is The Sun Eaters, and I am waiting for the novel of this title.
3358866
I have made a point to not write reviews; I have, instead, read the reviews of those whom read before me. Therefore, this being my first, please weigh that into your considerations.

I defer to my introduction for I cannot help myself in this instance. If you read one book this year, read this one, why dabble and waste your time on else. If you have never read a sci-fi or fantasy book, read this one, what better way to welcome you. If you are an avid reader of mixed preference, read this one, take one of our best to compare to your favorite. If you are a junkie in the streets; steal this book from your local library, read this one, this is as close to crack as books get. If you read, please, read this book; we hope we start books like this from page 1.

-Clash
2102951
It has been too long since I read this book [probably 15 years ago] for me to offer an erudite and detailed analysis. But I do remember vividly that when I read it that the word "masterpiece" came repeatedly to my mind. In a league with Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" and Paul Scott's "The Raj Quartet".  Find the time to read it; you won't regret it.
3526879
At first, you might be tempted to call this collection of short stories a work of fiction.  But as you read, you find a piece of yourself somewhere in the consciousness of the main character, where all at once some forgotten memory opens up in such a way that you relive it, but this time from a different perspective.  "Cat's Eyes," for example, makes you want to hit rewind at certain places in your life and try again, if only you could.  And that's just the opening story.  Fast-forward to "The Woman with Her Skin on Backwards" (my personal favorite).  It digs at the shallow graves in which we bury pain too great to think about--unless it's provoked, that is.  Then the floodgates open and it's all over...This story is about healing.  Although you don't approach it knowing it in advance, it sort of comes into consciousness, little by little.  But as much as you want it to be a pretty little story with fictional characters in situations you yourself have never experienced, in the end it is about you, and the people you think about, and the holes that ache to be filled.  There are more facets than you might have thought.  It's as if, through your reading, you realize you are not alone--that others have gone through something like this.  And thus, you see it in its wholeness and realize, as Sting once sung, "how fragile we are."  You forgive yourself, and maybe even someone else.

If you so choose, then, not only do you have a collection of short stories, but you also have some self-help along the way.  Who would've thought?

But then there's the craftsmanship of the writing itself. Take, for example, "What He Left," where the efficiency of each word and deliberate inclusion of just the right details make this snapshot inside someone's grief poignant and yet in the end more satisfying than brevity has the right to provide.  Likewise in "One Strong Girl," where character development would seem impossible in a one-page story, yet it happens nonetheless.

As for happy endings or morals or...whatever, "Destiny of Joy" provides us with a title to live by (before the story even gets started!).  Here the sensory details move the characters through the situation in much the same way as a streetcar would transport passengers from one place to another.  Mary Kennedy Eastham's trademark visuals make this gem both filmworthy and satisfying.

By the time you get to the piece de resistance--the story that named the book, you come to expect lines that ring so true they seem to come right from your diary.  You just don't expect the happy ending to involve a sleeping tarantula, something only Mary Kennedy Eastham could pull off with such sincerity and grace.
639298
If you have not read this book, you are not a complete person.  It is that moving.  When reading, just keep in mind that much of the work is highly symbolic (obviously).
4334477
It can be hard to read at times but it gets much easier as you progress through each section.  In one of my top 5 favorite books of all time.  Mitchell is truly a literary genius.  You will be thinking about this novel long after you finish reading the final poignant line.
4408539
If you've read some of other recommendations for this book, and you're still on the fence for some reason.  I assure you of the quality of this narrative and the emotional punches that it throws.  I avoid all spoilers and caution you to at least wishlist or check your local library.

As a bonus method to make things more alien, the default sexual pronouns/titles are feminine.  It really did keep slightly pushing me off balance seeing male characters referred to as "she" or "daughter".  It added another layer of contemplation to the story
2137565
I ended up reading this book in one sitting because I couldn't put it down (helps also that it is a novella length piece), although I feel I could certainly re-read it and find things I originally missed. I'd best describe the piece as surreal, with compelling characters and some really gorgeous descriptions. Some other reviewers have alluded to the novella being confusing, but I think it made the novella more interesting. It jumps around in time (and space), with the line between the real and unreal blurring--I felt as though the author evoked the same feeling/perception in me as what the characters were perceiving.
1971530
Before you read make sure you have a good chunk of time to dedicate to this book, because you will not want to put this down!
1633538
It took me almost two months to read a 204-page book. I literally read three pages a day, and re-read my favorite passages over and over. I just didn't want to leave. I felt like Sean and I had some sort of understanding; so many of his thoughts and experiences in WIWV resonated with me (which, now that I think about it, should be worrisome).

I'm sure anyone who sees this cover in person has to admit that it's gorgeous (it definitely pulled me out of the Cloud and brought me back to physical books). But the content contained within may not be for everybody. How you feel about this novel will be largely dependent on what you expect to get from the experience of reading a book.

This book throws linearity out the f*cking window. The narrative jumps from past to present, from present to memories, from real to imagined, and it usually does all this seamlessly. If that's a problem, then this is not the book for you.

There is some structure--Darnielle seems to have taken great care with the way his story is mapped out because he knew it would be told in reverse-- but there isn't really a plot. I feel Darnielle's wordplay was enough to keep me interested, but if you need for there to be a clearly defined point/lesson to the 200+ pages you've read...this is not the book for you.

I thought about the fact that Imaginary Girls (by Nova Ren Suma) drove me nuts because there was no real plot; just a writer stringing words together nicely on the page. Yet, now faced with a similar issue, I didn't just look past it, I loved it. I can't explain why, but WIWV is just different, better, more filling.

The narrator, Sean, isn't telling you a story so much as he's letting you wander around his thoughts. He's an unreliable narrator, because he clearly suffers from some type of mental illness--perhaps schizophrenia or psychopathy or, at the very least, delusional thinking--but he still came across as open and trustworthy, and I liked him. And even though Sean's not trying to be misleading, his implied pathology leads you to believe that his view of things is probably skewed.

I would have loved for Sean to share everything--to confess once and for all why he did it--but I imagine that would have opened a door he couldn't close, and, well...I accept that.

And also: lots of colons.

Random Question: Does anyone understand why Sean talks about being filled with like indescribable joy in the beginning (which I guess is technically the end)?