Review: 50/50 is 100% Good
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 28, 2013
I received a free e-copy of this book from the author through LibraryThings. An honest review was requested."Fifty/Fifty, and Other Stories" by Matthew McFarland is a medium length book of short stories penned by the very talented author. The eleven tales in this anthology run the gamut from the humorous to the serious to the bizarre. Right off the bat, the first short story in the book, "The Burning Bar", sets the tone for the rest of the book. That tale is only 3 Kindle pages long, yet it manages to still catch you by surprise at the end. Many, if not most, of the tales in this collection will surprise you at the end; the author has a real flair for twisting his endings. He also has a knack for writing stories that keep the reader involved from start to finish.Most short story books are prized for their ability to let you read a quick story while waiting in line, then close the book until the next time you're waiting in a line. "Fifty/Fifty" is more like a novel, in that you won't want to stop reading at the end of any of the stories; you will read this book straight through, because each story just has a way of grabbing your attention and you won't want to wait to see what the next story will be like.Matthew McFarland can create characters you really want to care about, but he can also create characters you will simply feel sorry for. Then there are stories like "The Bicycle" which had me smiling all the way through it, and when it finished I was very happy for the players. I could relate with the first half of that story, as if he had written it specifically about me, but it was the second half that I wished I could relate to more closely.This author writes as if he personally knew every person and every situation he writes about... his characters are that real. I recommend this book of short stories for anyone with a wide range of interests, and anyone who likes to be entertained.