From Foreword Reviews
“In each story, the human need for love, recognition, and self-respect leads the protagonists to some extreme, and often very odd, acts and behaviors–yet Boone’s skill is such that we come to believe, with them, that their acts not only make sense, but are almost inevitable.” —Kristine Morris. Read the entire review here.
Advance Praise
“Boone’s collection has it all: great pathos, sly humor, and above all, nuggets of wisdom, hard earned, often painful, occasionally bleak, yet always piercingly true.”
—Jim DeFelice, NY Times best-selling author of American Sniper
***
“Riveting and masterful! ZZ Boone takes us to the edges of contemporary life with deep humanity and biting wit. I didn’t want this terrific collection to end.”
—Joe DiPietro, playwright of Tony Award-winning musical Memphis
***
“With a searing sense of humor and a deft flick of the narrative wrist, Boone showcases the very stuff of the human spirit. Gobsmacked by life, the piercingly vivid characters in this collection continue on, resonating in the reader’s heart and mind long after their tales have been told.”
—Rachel Basch, author of The Listener
Goodreads & LibraryThing Reviews
“This is an excellent selection of 18 short stories. The stories cover a wide range of emotions and feelings that are a part of life. Many of the stories are amusing/funny but at the same time poignant and thought-provoking. Highly recommend!”
***
“A wonderful debut collection of unrelated short stories. Boone introduces the reader to different settings and characters and affords the opportunity to witness these small vignettes in these fictional lives. My personal favorites are: “Strapless” – a short (3 pages) but powerful picture of the lives of unnamed father and daughter. So much comes through in such a short piece of work. No need for names, the descriptive dialogue and narration speak volumes about these two characters. “Pitching” – the unnamed narrator was a biological miracle. His parents adopted a young black boy just before they found out they were pregnant naturally. The narrator grows in the shadow of his elder sibling who becomes a baseball star in high school and college. Yet our narrator has his own talents that few see. He also knows the family political game-Patrick is most important. What he does for the family is selfless and oddly endearing.”
***
Off Somewhere stories were well written and pulled me in with the characters and situations. The stories were sometimes off-beat, but generally interesting. There were unexpected events in some of the stories. None of the stories were very long (one was only three pages), but they reached a conclusion of sorts or made you wonder what else happened. I really enjoyed reading them and would recommend the book.”
***
“The first story, which gives the collection its title, is about a family dealing with father/husband whose mind seems to be “off somewhere” else, later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. From there, each story goes off somewhere in other directions. Young lovers sneaking off somewhere across the border in search of the perfect doughnut. A recently divorced couple and their daughter moving off somewhere on their own direction. A man working out his love life, off somewhere away from his overweight (and overprotective) mother. And this is only the first four stories. Z.Z. Boone’s first published collection of stories hopefully won’t be his last. I look forward to reading more in the future.”
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