What is America? The late Gene Wolfe attempted to answer this question in a novella that has been one of the genre's best works of short fiction since its publication in the Damon Knight's 1978 anthology Orbit 20. Seven American Nights won the 1979 Hugo Award for best...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 14: The Wallet by John Updike
by MHill | Dec 21, 2022 | Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
"It was my wallet. Everything is in it. Everything. Without that wallet, I'm nothing." Have you ever lost something and felt like your world was ending? John Updike brings this common occurrence to life in his short story, The Wallet from the Trust Me short story...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 13: Can You Wear My Eyes by Kalamu ya Salaam
by MHill | Dec 19, 2022 | Marion's All-Time Favorite Short Stories, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
"A man should never know a woman's secret life; men cannot stand so much reality. Their fragile egos can't cope. It's like they say in Zimbabwe: men are children and women are mothers. Being a child is about innocence, about not knowing the realities that adults deal...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 12: Sticks by George Saunders
by MHill | Dec 18, 2022 | Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
As I delve more into reading short stories, I keep coming across the name of George Saunders. Whether it's social media, online articles, or face-to-face recommendations, Saunders is one of short story modern masters and a must read of the art form. I picked up the...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 119: Serafina’s Stories by Rudolfo Anaya
by MHill | Dec 8, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
"The spirit of story and the spirit of peace are naturally bound together. Storytellers are one of the standard bearers for the creation of peace. I am convinced that story, as an expression of life, constitutes one of the highest forms of value creation." I took...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 118: Writing Into The Dark by Dean Wesley Smith
by MHill | Nov 30, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing, Writing and Publishing Resources
There are very few articles and books on on how to just type in the first word and head off into the dark writing a novel with no plan, no character sketch, nothing but pure exploration. Smith provides an excellent argument for writing into the dark for fiction...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 117: The Write Attitude by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
by MHill | Nov 21, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Nonfiction, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Writing, Writing and Publishing Resources
“If you as a writer are not willing to take risks, if you’re not willing to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, if you’re not willing to write what you want—screamers be damned—then why are you writing? To please others? There are better ways to do that. Yes,...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 116: Someplace To Be Flying by Charles De Lint
by MHill | Nov 11, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Charles De Lint, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
That's an interesting cover. What is this book about? I have gotten that comment several times while reading Charles de Lint's Someplace to Be Flying recently. It is a reminder of the importance of book covers. The artist, John Jude Palencar, has produced some of...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 115: Sula by Toni Morrison
by MHill | Nov 1, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Toni Morrison, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
“Outlaw women are fascinating---not always for their behavior, but because historically woman are seen as naturally disruptive and their status is an illegal one from birth if it is not under the rule of men. In much literature a woman’s escape from male rule led to...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 114: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
by MHill | Oct 24, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
"Let 'em consolate theyselves wid talk. 'Course, talkin' don't amount tuh uh hill uh beans when yuh can't do nothin' else. And listenin' tuh dat kind uh talk is jus' lak openin' yo' mouth and lettin' de moon shine down yo' throat. It's uh known fact, Phoeby, you got...