Some hit and misses. When you 'get' Tabbuchi, you get it - when you don't, it's frustrating because it looks like he's rambling and you're trying to figure out where the 'deepness' is.

Nevertheless, he has a magical ability to craft vivid, sensual moments that occur suddenly without warning, mingling with the aspects of mundane life. ( )

I received a preview copy of this short story collection from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I thank them for the opportunity to experience a new (to me) writer.

I have never read any of Tubucchi’s stories before and I enjoyed the opportunity. One can divide these stories into what I would call evocative and narrative and both were very effective. I also could list a third category—those that completely went over my head and lost me. Unfortunately there were a few of those also.

Among my favorites:

“Letter from Casablanca” and “Bucharest Hasn’t Changed a Bit”—wonderfully evocative tales of a style that are almost never written by an American but are so beautifully written by Italian or Latin American writers. Think “Cinema Paradiso” and you will know what I mean.

“The Trains that Go from Madras”—as I finished this story I felt that it could have been quite at home published in a Hitchcock mystery magazine. The story had an almost British feel to it, as stories set in India often do. Could it be the fact that it takes place on a train? Great story with a real punch at the end.

“The Woman from Porto Pim”—Hemingway didn’t write this, obviously, but he would have liked it. A very satisfyingly unapologetic story about human emotions and their consequences.

“Message from the Shadows”—one of the evocative ones that deals with the situation where one spouse passes on, leaving the other. This story ends with one of the most poignant images I have ever read—deeply emotional yet so recognizable and common-place. I doubt I that will ever forget it.

“Little Misunderstandings of No Importance”—another disturbing story offered with no apologies, this time about how the wheel of time moves and changes the positions that we find ourselves, both in society, and in relation to the people in our lives.

Once again, I would like to thank the publisher for generously allowing me to read this fine short story collection. ( )