"People want life to be their friend. Some even expect or believe they deserve it. But I think of life only as a companion, and an unpredictable one at that. If it were my friend, life would be hurting or disappointing me all the time. But if it's only a companion,...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 17: The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington by P. Djeli Clark
by MHill | Jan 22, 2023 | Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, P. Djeli Clark, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
"For the blacksmith understood what masters had chosen to forget: when you make a man or woman a slave, you enslave yourself in turn. And the souls of those who made thralls of others would never know rest----in this life or the next." This quote is prophetic in its...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 16: George by Terry Bisson
by MHill | Jan 16, 2023 | Marion's All-Time Favorite Short Stories, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
I have a question. As a parent, would you allow your child born with wings to have them removed? That question gets answered in Terry Bisson's short story George from his award-winning collection, Bears Discover Fire. The parents in this story have just given birth to...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 15: Seven American Nights by Gene Wolfe
by MHill | Dec 27, 2022 | Gene Wolfe, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
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,...