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Chargement... Precarious: Stories of Love, Sex, and Misunderstandingpar Al Riske
Aucun Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre.  MariaSavva | Mar 26, 2011 |   Cette critique a été rédigée pour LibraryThing Member Giveaways. This is a book of short stories so it was a fast read. I liked most of the stories. Most I wanted expaneded so that says alot for them. I guess it's like that with short stories you want more from the characters and then it's done. But overall I really enjoyed this book. (  ) IandSsmom | Aug 5, 2010 | Cette critique a été rédigée pour LibraryThing Member Giveaways. If I wasn't reading this book to review it, I probably wouldn't have finished it. Although the title infers the stories are about love & sex, they rarely take center stage, remaining an undercurrent. However, disappointment and missed opportunity abound, I suppose that's the "misunderstanding" part. I thought the last two stories: "Taken" and "For your eyes" were the better two in the book. Even though the storylines became somewhat preposterous they were the most interesting and readable. I found it frustrating that the narrator in most stories had the same "voice", even though they were very different in content, it was as if the same person was narrating each one. I also was irritated by the multiple pauses on each page, it only served to make the stories more disjointed. I'd like to give the author a better recommendation, perhaps the stories are better read individually in a magazine, than in a collection lke this. I wish him well with his novel...this seems like good practice. (  ) SallyApollon | Jul 11, 2010 |   AlRiske | Apr 2, 2010 | aucune critique | ajouter une critique
In prose that is by turns spare and lyrical, the stories in this collection capture the heady, invincible feeling of late summer as they describe the sharp pinch of doing the right thing and regretting it and recall exhilarating memories of making bets and dancing naked. From rain-soaked Seattle to drought-stricken California, from the front seat of a mother's Malibu to a vacation cabin on Cape Cod, and from a tiny island to a desert drenched in light and heat, these 16 short tales introduce readers to characters such as a boy trying to make it through the summer between the end of high school and the start of something else, a woman attracted to a muscular man because it makes her feel safeâright up until it doesn'tâand a man who can only imagine what it's like to sleep with many different women. The fully-realized, well-rounded individuals who populate these pages will resonate with readers. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Auteur LibraryThingAl Riske est un auteur LibraryThing, c'est-à-dire un auteur qui catalogue sa bibliothèque personnelle sur LibraryThing. Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires  
 Google Books — Chargement...GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne: (3.75)
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The first story 'Sleeping With Smiley' is ,in my opinion, probably the best in the collection. A very well written story about misplaced loyalty and regret. Some other stand-out stories were Your Eyes Only and Hold On.
All of the stories are fun and interesting to read, the only issue I had was that many of the endings seemed too abrupt or just not satisfying. This is a pity because with a bit of work on the endings this would have been an outstanding collection. The writer is obviously talented because he knows how to hold a readers attention, and the prose flows well. An example of a great ending is the end of 'Sleeping With Smiley', where the reader is left with a thought-provoking sentence which brings to mind the events of the story in a poignant manner.
As a short story writer myself, I believe that the hardest part of writing a short story is writing a good ending. Because there are a limited amount of words in short fiction, it’s more important that an effort should be made to write an ending that will satisfy the reader and tie up any loose ends. A bad ending can make or break a short story, in the same way that a good ending can turn a mediocre story into a great one. Indeed, it’s much harder to write a good short story than a good novel.
In conclusion, I would say that Al Riske has done a brilliant job writing these stories, all of them containing insightful prose and true to life characters. Most of the endings didn’t work for me, but other readers may have a different opinion.
Reviewed by Maria Savva as a reviewer for Bookpleasures.com (