Review: Award Winning Stories Told With Wit and Warmth
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 26, 2013
It's no wonder that "The Whiskey Bottle in the Wall" was named Best Short Story in the 2013 eFestival of Words. It's just one of three unforgettable tales by Kathleen Valentine that make up THE WHISKEY BOTTLE IN THE WALL: Vol. 1 - SECRETS OF MARIENSTADT, and it's the first book of her three-volume novel in eleven consecutive stories.In the introduction to this book, Valentine reveals that she grew up in St. Mary's, Pennsylvania, "surrounded by storytellers." She obviously inherited that talent. Although the town in her stories is fictional, Valentine's knowledge of the rural setting and its culture, as well as her love of the region, are obvious in every word she has written. Told with wit and warmth, author Kathleen Valentine shares the secrets of Marienstadt's residents. Though they have their quirks, Valentine's characters are believable. My favorite is the town's hero and stabilizing force, Chief of Police Henry Werner, though I also enjoyed getting to know Sister Ursula, the snowplow operator, and Mulligan Wolfe, the owner of Stooges Pigs & Kraut and an accomplished dancer. Valentine knows each one well.If the name of the title story doesn't grab you, then the others from Volume 1 surely will: "Peeper Baumgratz and the Sister's Snowplow" and "The Great Dumpling War and Dance Competition." Who could read those titles and not want to know what the stories are about? All three volumes in the series are also available in one omnibus edition.It's been a while since I read a collection of short stories, and Kathleen Valentine has made me wonder why I've waited so long!