Literary Fiction | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Littlethumb Sneezed by Truant D. Memphis

When 10-year old Littlethumb Brooks emerged from the “Occurrence,” the world around him had not changed, but he had. Always sensitive, but now a precocious artist, he possesses a wiseness beyond his years. In front of him stands an amazing series of events involving his parents, a kind yet eager teacher, an evil rock-star, a devastating fire and a beautiful nanny. Littlethumb Sneezed by the creatively named Truant D. Memphis captivates and careens through mystery, love, and a head-spinning jaunt through the enigmatic art world.

The story begins on Coney Island where a caricature artist meets a nanny and the […]

Greg Rideout2019-09-27T09:29:48+02:00August 17th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Visionary Fiction|

Review: A Family Affair and Other Stories by Joseph E. Fleckenstein

A Family Affair and Other Stories by Joseph Fleckenstein is an engaging collection of fictional and non-fictional stories that span the globe.

Many of these stories have been previously published in literary journals, which speaks to the quality of the writing throughout, which includes those that have not been published before. Written in bite-sized portions, with some stories only two pages long, this is a collection that you can breeze through quickly, in part because of the eclectic variety of Fleckenstein’s storytelling. The stories travel to Egypt, India, Germany, and more, acting as a kind of travel diary, as well […]

Cate Baum2019-09-16T08:54:26+02:00August 13th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Joseph E. Fleckenstein, Literary Fiction, Short Stories|

McDowell by William H. Coles

Dr. Hiram McDowell is irascible, he’s arrogant, and he’s tough to love, except as a character, in William H. Coles’ riveting character portrait, McDowell.

A quintessential character who you love to hate, McDowell is indifferent to his wife (his third), his children, and his neighbors. He’s earned his pride as head of surgery in Denver, leading a foundation for the underprivileged in Nepal, and becoming a nominee for the U.S. President’s cabinet. However, with an almost superheroic degree of self-absorption, the novel challenges the reader to stick with a character who has so little to offer as a person.[…]

SPR2019-07-10T11:53:11+02:00July 10th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Literary Fiction|

Review: Cooperative Lives by Patrick Finegan

A swirl of characters centers around a dying young girl in New York City, each with their own burdens as they try to get through another day living in their ever-changing worlds. Cooperative Lives by Patrick Finegan underscores how lives intersect, crash into each other, and then reveal the secrets that people carry, and sometimes expose.

Jack and Susan seem to be living a broken yet plausible existence in their quintessential New York building, an aging co-op with doormen and supercilious board members. Jack’s an out-of-work securities lawyer and his wife, Susan, a former flight attendant and barely a survivor […]

Greg Rideout2019-07-19T08:50:06+02:00June 25th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Patrick Finegan|

Review: Last Night in Granada by Chris Pellizzari

Our physical place in the world defines so much of our mindset, and the longing to be elsewhere can be toxic, addictive and impossible to ignore. The main character in Chris Pellizzari’s new novel, Last Night in Granada, understands this desire for a far-flung home, a refuge of love and peace away from the mad bustle of cold water flats and the harsh streets of Chicago.

In this surreal exploration of one man’s desperation and adoration for his old life in Spain, despite his exile, the author delves into the obsession of possible salvation, and escape. Along the way, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-06-21T11:15:55+02:00May 23rd, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction|

Review: All Fall Down (Furnass Towers Trilogy Book 3) by Richard Snodgrass

In All Fall Down, the epic conclusion to Richard Snodgrass’s Furnass Towers Trilogy, the characters and families that loyal readers have come to know so well all come together for one final piece of the puzzle – centered dramatically around the murder of Dickie Sutcliff.

The Sutcliff family, specifically Dickie and his brother Harry Todd, have featured heavily in this trilogy, being at the center of the real estate market in the mill town of Furnass. However, over those many decades and deals, Dickie has certainly made enemies along the way, so when he turns up dead, it is […]

SPR2019-03-11T12:05:00+02:00February 4th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Furnass Towers Trilogy, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Richard Snodgrass|

Review: The Childless Ones by Cam Rhys Lay

The Childless Ones by Cam Rhys Lay is a remarkable debut novel that takes the concept of “story within a story” to an impressive level. This is essentially two novels in one, overlapping and interweaving thematically, reflecting and bouncing beautifully between two very different worlds.

In the real world, aspiring author Jack Ampong is dealing with a marriage that is coming unraveled, and a penchant for prostitutes. When an attack on his wife further disrupts his mental clarity and grip on morality, he turns to his writing as a respite. There, readers are introduced to an entirely new universe, a […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-25T12:57:34+02:00December 19th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy, Literary Fiction|

A Child is a Piece of Paper by Lance Crossley

Raw… gritty…no single adjective can sufficiently describe the intensity of A Child is a Piece of Paper, Lance Crossley’s stark novel.

The year is 1960. Six-year-old Wanisin Blackwill and his older sister, Mitena, are forced to leave their Indian reserve outside of Fort Hope to attend a Catholic-run live-in school for Native American children. Once at the school, Wanisin and Mitena become Wally and Mabel, their former lives beaten out of them due to the relentless ministrations of their headmaster, Father Paxton. Childhood innocence is quickly replaced by humiliation, constant fear, and something much worse until the only recourse […]

Marta Cheng2018-11-02T10:09:18+02:00November 1st, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction|