Thursday, February 4, 2010

Twenty Stories - Kristin Fouquet


I received Twenty Stories from a goodreads.com giveaway. It is collection of flash fiction and short stories by Kristin Fouquet. While, I'm not a huge fan of flash fiction, I can tell you that Fouquet can surely write good flash fiction. In 2 pages she can hook you, draw you in and promptly drop you back in the water wanting to be plucked back in again. Some authors cannot do that in 300 pages.

I liked the last two stories the best "The Moon is New but Love is Old" and " Depreciation of The Darbonnes" mostly because they were a bit longer and a bit more substance. But that is just my personal taste.

I really enjoyed how Fouquet, who is from New Orleans, incorporated New Orleans culture; past and present into her writing. You've got Bourbon street in "Dames of Dumaine", flappers mentioned in more than one piece, the food, the language, and the music.

Some of my favorite of the flash fiction were "Faithful Still" about a woman and an older lover, "Traveling Lightheaded" which is a bit sinister, "Propped Up" which is comical, "A Reason to Believe" because it rings so true, and "Boy in Waiting" about a boy who waits outside the same house waiting on his dad almost every day after school for a year, what is soo important that he keeps on waiting?

If you are a fan of New Orleans culture, flash fiction or short stories you would enjoy this collection. Check out Kristin's blog here.

FTC DISCLOSURE I did receive this book free from goodreads.com

3 comments:

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

I have actually never heard of flash fiction - it sounds very intriguing!!

Anais said...

That sounds interesting! I had never heard of flash fiction either! I haven't read short stories in a long time but it used to be my favorite thing to read!

Anonymous said...

I've never read flash fiction and am not sure I could really get into it, but I'm glad you were able to appreciate it. I do like New Orleans as a setting though.