This was an interesting collection by Appel. Although some of the stories were a close miss, others had the potency and exemplary quality that are typical with Appel's other works. I think, for those interested in contemporary American short stories, that this will prove a good read.

3.25 stars. ( )

Review of The Magic Laundry
By Jacob M. Appel
These original award-winning short stories give you insights about the adventures of ordinary people. They will make you laugh or cry and make you feel that even ordinary adventures in life can seem extraordinary. They are delightful and well written with surprises around every corner. The characters come to life on the pages right before your eyes. Dr. Appel has taken American Literature to new heights. ( )

won this book on a series of giveaways. This is an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this series of short stories. Some of these stories were more amusing than relatable; however, it was an overall interesting read. ( )

I believe that I literally probably have almost all of Mr. Appel's books. And I'm okay with that! What another great book of short stories. My review of each of the stories are listed below:

Natural Selection - Story about a girl who steals a baboon and has to hide it at her dad's house. Cool story. Parts about Darwin boring. Sad ending.

Enoch Arden's One Night Stands - Story about a guy who goes to a widow/widower's meeting to meet a woman even though his wife is not dead but missing. Good story. Ending was not what I thought it would be.

The Ataturk of the Outer Boroughs - Good story about a locksmith fighting to stop his building from being knocked down for a pretty attorney. Seriously that is why. Ending was great.

Exposure - Story about a man who flashes women in his past he wants to get revenge with. He meets his match with an 80 year old teacher. Interesting story.

The Magic Laundry - Story about a boy who runs a laundromaut where the machines make everyone happy (except the competition). Okay story. I did not like the ending at all. I hoped he wound up with the niece. Such is life.

The House Call - About an actress who used to pretend she had cancer to medical students. You find out a lot about her family and how she ran into her previous medical student and helped her in more ways then she thought. Lovely story.

The Empress of Charcoal - Cute story about two widows who find each other based on the women posing nude back in the sixties for the man. She claims it wasn't her and lies to him to get to know him better. Wonderful story and great ending.

Animal Control - Story about a tiger grabbing a baby and a guy from animal control going to his old hometown to save the baby. Not a bad story. Pretty funny and ending was good. ( )

I’ve said before that I’m not a great fan of short stories and as such, there are very few authors of short stories that I know and trust by name. Jacob Appel is one of them. Which is a bit of a miracle, as I only discovered his writing because I won several of his books through Goodreads. I enjoy that his stories are peopled by diverse and colorful casts, all of whom are flawed but relatable. I like that he doesn’t just write for shock value, taking the darkest and therefore easiest path. In this collection, his characters are put in a variety of uncomfortable circumstances and they deal with them with all, some more successfully than others. The writing is clean and easy to read. The editing is sharp and book well worth picking up. ( )