Review: So many perfect little gems all in one book!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 21, 2013
Lies I Never Told by Martin CrosbieI really loved this book as a whole. The stories were filled with raw emotion and a special vulnerability that felt honest. I can't wait for Mr. Crosbie's next book.Blind men don't CryThis is a captivating story that could touch the inner depth of ones soul. Beautifully written. I held onto each word as if it were a gift. All the little treasures come together making this a story one that I wished had not ended."She's busy now, my daughter. She has friends, friends I don't know. She has less time for me. I ask, plead, for phone calls, but they don't come. I pray that her complexion will be little-girl-clear and that her eyes will sparkle and her clothes will be clean and unslept in. I pray that I will recognize her. I pray she doesn't look the way she's accused of acting by her mother."Any Night but FridayA sad little story about family. It wasn't written in a  dismal manner but it felt dark just the same. Short and not so sweet.Wendy isn't Coming HomeA touching little story about a break up. Not your conventional break-up story but one with heart and real human emotion."He's her cat, not mine. When she moved in twenty-seven months ago, it was a package deal. Spock, the cat, was her family, and if I wanted her to move in, he was coming too. So I reluctantly gave in, and began living with a girl I couldn't stop thinking about, and Spock, the tuxedo cat."My Temporary LifeThis is a story about thirteen year old boys where there all bullies and life isn't always fair. Life can be downright cruel. This segment sends chills down my spine. Because it feels all too real."My mother left my father and returned to Canada four years ago. That's where she's from. She met my father while on holiday in Scotland, then shortly afterwards, I came along. Then when she tired of Scotland, or my Dad, or me, I'm not sure which, she went home."My Name is HardlyThis is a story about army loft-sitters. Hardly is a soldier. Being a loft-sitter there are plenty of rules and fear is a big part of the game.The Absence of GuiltThis is a sweet  story going back to a time of innocence. Being young and experiencing first loved and heartbreaks. Then it takes to to a not so innocent time. It takes you to the present.This brilliant piece touched me and by the end the tears that were filling my eyes started dripping down like warm rain. An emotional story that moved me."We'd park at the river, thinking we were characters in a Springsteen song, and she'd let me touch her in places I hadn't seen before. There were piles of gravel, small mountains really, spread along the edge of the water and we'd park in between them. It was our private would. We'd talk about what we were going to do when we got out of our little town, when high school was over, and we'd talk about being seventeen and stuck, and we'd talk about being together. It was always me and her. There was never any other option."Afternoons with AngelaThis such a beautiful story filled with real emotion. A perfect story to end a perfect collection of short stories."I'll bet the sun could touch her eyes and make you think of summer,I'll bet the moon could burn her thighs and make you say you love her.I'll bet she doesn't know it but I'll bet you if I tried,I could probably convince her almost angels always cry."