Review: 5 Darker Toned Stories - Cleverly done Flash Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 28, 2013
My rating: 4 of 5 starsTake off Your Mask by Mary Papas is a flash fiction novel. This book was published in January 2013. There are five short stories of women in various relationships, all masking their true selves. Tales of revenge, obsession, and discontent, these stories have a dark tone that keeps the reader fascinated. There is depth and emotion in each story as the reader will find that they identify with some of these characters. We all hide behind a mask at times. The people surrounding us seldom know what is really going on in our minds. The roles we play, the fear we cover up, the bravado we show outwardly, all mask our anger and insecurities. Well, thought out and developed for the type of work this is. I am new to flash fiction, I must admit. I don't really know if other works similar to this have so little dialogue, but this book is almost, if not entirely devoid of dialogue. In this case it works well because the author is trying to give us an inside look into the innermost thoughts of the protagonist. The very thoughts we would never utter out loud. So, the narrative style was perfect for this theme. In fact, it was quite clever, in my opinion. A very interesting book. I am looking forward to reading more by this author. This one gets an A.