wp-1582393303907.jpgToday I have a review of Tender Cuts by Jayne Martin, now available from Vineleaves Press. A big thank you to TNBBC Publicity for the gifted copy.

My Thoughts:

Have you read flash fiction before? I have only read one other collection of stories. Many of these little bits are less than a page long, and the emotion you can feel from just a few lines of words is impressive.

The title suits the stories as there is an underlying theme of sharpness, and you’d have to read them to find out how precisely that applies. The characters are every day people doing every day things for the most part.

Overall, I enjoyed these thirty-eight tiny tales.

I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

About the Book:

If Joy Williams and Raymond Carver had a love child that was often left in the care of Lydia Davis it might grow up to be Jayne Martin. Martin’s writing evokes the literary DNA of those who have influenced her most, while in a style and voice that is uniquely her own.

In these 38 tiny tales, everyday people do their best to manage the wounds life inflicts on all of us: A six-year-old beauty pageant contestant strives to please her demanding mother; a woman marries a 1985 Buick LeSabre; in a laundromat bored wives fall under the romantic spell of a lobster; a grown woman is still being fat-shamed by her deceased mother via a Ouija board; a widow carries her husband’s ashes around in Baggies.

With pathos and humor, these and all of the characters in this collection will speak to the reader’s own wounded heart.

Have you read Tender Cuts or any flash fiction? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR