Sunday 7 January 2007

So This Is Love - Lollipop and Other Stories by Gilbert Reid

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketPublished by Key Porter Books.

Forget all you know about love stories. Gilbert Reid brings us a fresh and brilliantly different collection of stories which are wonderfully written. The characters are very vivid and memorable and the stories themselves are a wide variety of works which cover a vast range of emotions and ideas to stir the imagination. I loved the honesty and passion. Mostly I loved that this book is original and brings to light so many things that most would shy away from.

In Pavilion 24 we meet a crippled muslim soldier and a blind serbian woman who find comfort in one another. In After The Rain, a man pursues a young suicidal girl and the list goes on. I love the way the author places the stories in different countries also. Canada, Italy, France, Bosnia.. it adds a little something to an already great collection.

I tried to pick just one of these tales to name as my favourite but I couldn't. There are nine in all. Pavilion 24, Soon We Will Be Blind, After The Rain, Irony Is..., Hey, Mister!, Lollipop, The Champion, Bevete del Vino, and the Road Out of Town. Alone, each of these stories is a unique gem. Together they make a selection that is not to be missed.

It was a joy to read and an inspiration on many levels.

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