Curtis Harrell

Opening with my overall take, this is a perfectly entertaining collection by Curtis Harrell. Where "Melpomene's Garden" has some short stories, some plays, and some poems, there is a fiction style here for every reader. More pointed: the short stories were the strongest part of this for me. Touches of the supernatural are well used and the stories all have a weight of 'hidden meanings' that adds to the supernatural air of them. They can be a be text-heavy at times and there's an odd typo here and there, but nothing that pulls you away from the tale. The plays were the weak spot for me, but that is solely because I've never been able to read and enjoy a play. If it were acted out, I might love them. The poems are perfectly fine. While nothing ground breaking, I'm glad to see 'standard' poetry instead of someone who assumes a wild form equals a quality poem. The poems are approachable and well written. Definitely worth a read if you have the chance, but if you want a specific style of fiction, it's best to go to a more specific book.… (mehr)

Excellent collection of stories, short plays, & poems. I felt that the stories did a great job of drawing me in - while there were common themes of the supernatural, death, and family, they were all distinct & interesting in their own ways. They often left several questions unanswered, which I thought was appropriate given these themes. I have less experience with plays in general, but the ones included in this collection were engaging. The poetry was very diverse in style (which I was a fan of) & well-written. Overall, a great collection that I really enjoyed. Works were generally good, but my favorites were "The Scent of Baby Powder," "The Killer Tattoo," "Duke Sims and the Duchess of Russia," and "Insurance Trilogy."… (mehr)

The cover is intriguing, as is the title; furthermore, this is a collection of short stories, two plays, and various poems. Aside from a few typos, and, for some obscure reasons, numerals like 2, 4, 6, etc. accidentally inserted in-between words in the story "Liar", the collection is well-written. The first story wasn't my favorite, but the others held my interest, especially because they all had something to do with someone or something that was from beyond the grave. The plays had great characterization, as the author mentions in his preface. The poems, too, though at first somewhat obscure, grew on me, and I liked the later poems rather than the earlier ones. I can tell that the author used to be an English professor, as the whole collection is not really about entertainment, but is more literary, smacking of meaning--even if, sometimes, you are left wondering what the meaning is. I would buy another collection from this author.… (mehr)