Booklover Book Reviews

I recently reviewed a wonderful short story collection called Corporeality by Hollis Seamon. It is a gritty, imaginative and moving collection that really struck a chord with me. It was clear to me that the emotions lurking beneath these stories were drawn from life experiences, so I was interested in finding out more about the person that wrote them.

Today I welcome author Hollis Seamon to Booklover Book Reviews.

In a revealing article about her upcoming novel, Somebody Up There Hates You, a young adult novel spawned from a short story included in the collection Corporeality, Hollis Seamon shares her experience of spending many years visiting a children’s hospital while caring for her young son. That son also grew up to become a writer – listen to an interview with Hollis and her son Tobias, discussing their latest book releases.

BLBookReviews: It was the cover art of Corporeality that first caught my attention, and then the title – I took great meaning from both. Could you share with us how that cover art and title were chosen and what they mean to you?

Hollis: All credit for the fabulous cover of Corporeality goes to the editor of Able Muse Press, Alex Pepple, who chose the image and designed the book. And, of course, to Renee Hoekzema, who created the “Girl and Duck” image. For me, the cover perfectly captures both the realism and magical aspects of the stories, in its misty colors and mysterious, partially-effaced figures. The title is a reflection of my interest in our human existence as embodied creatures. “Corporeality” means the life of the body and it’s used, often, in contrast with our spiritual lives. I see no contrast between the two: for me, our bodily lives are who we are and who we are is a deeply spiritual mystery. And, on the literal level, many of the people in these stories suffer from bodily ills and ailments—ailments that are very much part of their stories. (more…)

Today Booklover Book Reviews is hosting the TLC Book Tour for Wanderers : Stories by Edward Belfar.

Wanderers Synopsis

This exquisitely crafted collection includes several stories set in Kenya, offering tantalizing glimpses of life in that troubled but fascinating country beyond the picturesque game parks. In “Mistaken Identity,” a blunder by an American groom-to-be at a traditional Kikuyu engagement ceremony lands him in hot water with his fiancée. “Something Small” depicts the inner struggles of a man trying to remain honest amid a culture of corruption. In “Departure,” an expatriate returning to Nairobi for a visit discovers her brother’s plans to raze the family home. Despairing of changing his mind, she sets off on what she expects will be a nostalgic voyage to the coast via the overnight train. Sadly typical of the Kenya to which she has come back, however, the elegant conveyances of her youth now exist only in her memory, and her journey becomes a grim test of her endurance. The book concludes with the very poignant title story, “Wanderers.” The story hinges on an act of kindness shown by one nocturnal wanderer, a man whose life appears on the verge of unraveling, to another, his one-time law school professor, a formerly imposing figure whom age has left frail and disoriented.

Finely wrought and deeply moving, the stories in Wanderers will linger with the reader long beyond the final page. (Amazon)

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As part of my Short Story Summer Challenge (1 December 2012 – 28 February 2013) I will be reviewing short story collections and where possible bringing you interviews with the authors of those collections.

The first short story author I’d like to welcome is A S Patric, to talk about his most recently published collection Las Vegas for Vegans.

Read my review of Las Vegas for Vegans.

A S Patrić is the winner of the 2011 Ned Kelly Short Story Award and the 2011 Booranga Short Story Prize. His debut book, The Rattler & other stories, was published to wide acclaim in 2011. Best Australian Stories 2010 featured his work and he has also been published in The Sydney Morning Herald, Meanjin, Overland, Southerly, Quadrant and many other literary journals. Alec is also a bookseller living in bayside Melbourne with his wife and two daughters.

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