"Jilly's always saying that magic's never what you expect to be, but it's often what you need. I think she's right. And it doesn't matter if the experience comes from outside or inside. Where it comes from isn't important at all. What's important is that it does...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 20: Occupying Arthur Whitfield by Charles Johnson
by MHill | Mar 22, 2023 | Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
Charles Johnson came onto my reading radar for many years after I read his National Book Award-winning novel, Middle Passage. The novel told the story of Rutherford Calhoun, a freed slave who sneaks onto a slave ship heading back to the motherland to escape an...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 16: George by Terry Bisson
by MHill | Jan 16, 2023 | 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 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 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 Story Review 10: The Cookout by Jacqueline Turner Banks
by MHill | Apr 9, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
A stepfather-stepdaughter relationship can be challenging, especially when the stepdaughter is coming into her own. The Cookout by Jacqueline Turner Banks, a short story published in Shades of Black: Crime & Mystery Stories by African-American Writers, makes a...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 9: The Storyteller by Rafik Schami
by MHill | Apr 7, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorites, Marion's Reading Life Blog, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
"Good storytellers are like good wine---the older the better!" The aforementioned sentence came from the last paragraph of The Storyteller by Rafik Schami. This short story was taken from his novel, Damascus Nights and reprinted in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror:...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 5: Galapago by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
by MHill | Mar 9, 2022 | 2022 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorites, Short Story Review, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
I have stated recently that I'm reading more short stories as a part of my reading life. As much as I love reading novels, I'm appreciating the short story on its own terms. Last year, I read an excellent short story collection, Sabrina & Corina by Kali...
Wisdom From Kammbia Story Review 4: L’Alchimista by N.K. Jemisin
by MHill | Mar 5, 2022 | Black History Month, Marion's Favorites, Short Story Review, Wisdom of Kammbia Story Review
I have read a lot more short stories in the past year. I have always considered short stories the stepchildren of contemporary fiction. Novels are the alpha and omega for most contemporary fiction (literary & genre) readers. Novellas (short novels between...