Sunday Salon

Just finished The Way Through Doors - Ball. Whew! What a wild ride. It was clever without being too cute. I wanted to know how it would end and whether the author could possibly tie all these stories together. He did, and I didn't feel manipulated. A very satisfying read.

Six chapters into Every Man Dies Alone - Fallada. Good first-hand account of a German man who stands up to the Third Reich when his soldier son is killed. The characters, who all live in the same apartment building, and their mail lady have been introduced. I think she will join the man whose son died in resisting the SS. It is based on a true story, originally published in Germany in 1947, and recently translated and published here. 

Reading, too, in between the above which is intense and sad Delicate Edible Birds - Groff which I was delighted to find on the bookstore shelf after really enjoying The Monsters of Templeton. I prefer reading short stories as a break from intense reading or when I can't decide what book to read next. So far, the first two stories are good.

Short story writers who can place us readers in the middle of the story with the right amount of detail so we can understand what is happening are truly gifted. We, the readers of the good story writer, know we will be with the story and characters for a short time, but while reading we sense we have known them and the place for a long time. 

Hope every Sunday Salon member has a lovely Spring week!