Review: glorious read!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 23, 2013
Carla Sarett's short story collection Nine Romantic Stories features a number of previously published works as well as new selections. If you are not familiar with her work, this is the perfect introduction! Her stories are poignant, touching, moving, and entertaining.These are, as the title suggests, all stories of love. But Sarett does not feed readers the usual trope. Instead, she examines love through a unique lens. The stories here are fresh and well-crafted. In the opening, "A String Theory Valentine," she weaves a haunting and poignant tale of two souls intertwined through the memory of a little boy long dead. Lines such as "...she hears little Gary walking lightly in the dark woods where she used to walk... And her heart opens to the little boy, lost in the woods and then lost forever..." wrap around you like the mist on a cool evening. Sarett's prose is enchanting, alluring, and heartfelt.Nine Romantic Stories is a glorious read. She walks a melancholy path, and although tinged in sadness, there is a poignant hope in her narratives. A must-read collection and a must-read author.