by Anne Leigh Parrish
Published February 8th, 2017 by Unsolicited Press
Paperback: 246 pages
Marvelous. Honest. Generous. From the first story to the last, "By the Wayside" catches your attention and demands that you give into its every whirl. Each character unfolds with a precision that will have you wondering how Parrish managed to create such real-to-the-bones people within a world that captivates you with ease.
As a fan of short stories I was looking forward to devouring BY THE WAYSIDE but I hate to tell you that is not how it transpired. In this situation, I only read 60% of the stories due to legitimate circumstances. After years of reading short story books, I have constructed a strange pattern in the manner I read them, never from front to back. Therefore, I start with the first story which had me excited, more on that later, then the last, after that I jump around marking each story with a ™Post-it so I don’t overlook something essential in my review. I know you are thinking why am I telling you this? Hence, the stories were not holding my attention due to the fact the main points eluded me. Even short stories have a beginning, middle, and an end, but these felt as if a small section from a general book had been removed and just placed on the pages. Therefore, when I went back and looked at my ™Post-it’s all but one were revealing the same conclusion, little depth, dry writing style, and what was the author insinuating to the reader?
Nevertheless, I kept thinking about these stories on and off for days, as if they were haunting me, causing my mind to go rogue trying to figure out what this author was attempting to convey, eventually leaving me at a loss. All things considered, there is a story that I give high praise, please don’t fall over, AN ANGEL WITHIN the first one in the book. In contrast to the others, this contained uniqueness and the writing was impressive. Furthermore, it’s about an Angel that sits wobbly on the head of a pin in a woman's chest. So could you imagine my surprise regarding the rest of the book? In conclusion, remember though BY THE WAYSIDE was unbefitting to me realize you as a reader could fancy it.
Nevertheless, I kept thinking about these stories on and off for days, as if they were haunting me, causing my mind to go rogue trying to figure out what this author was attempting to convey, eventually leaving me at a loss. All things considered, there is a story that I give high praise, please don’t fall over, AN ANGEL WITHIN the first one in the book. In contrast to the others, this contained uniqueness and the writing was impressive. Furthermore, it’s about an Angel that sits wobbly on the head of a pin in a woman's chest. So could you imagine my surprise regarding the rest of the book? In conclusion, remember though BY THE WAYSIDE was unbefitting to me realize you as a reader could fancy it.
Anne Leigh Parrish is the author of All the Roads That Lead From Home, stories (Press 53, 2011); Our Love Could Light The World, stories (She Writes Press, 2013); and What Is Found, What Is Lost, a novel (She Writes Press, 2014). Her new novel, Women Within, is forthcoming from Black Rose Writing in September 2017. Find Anne on Facebook, Twitter, and her website.
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