Customer Reviews

The Heavens Weep for Us: And Other Stories

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this little gem of a book. I had so many favorite lines that I underlined, like in the title story: "...plain boxes hobbled together with moans and prayers and whys."

Or "The greatest redeemer is a new day" in the story, Little Box. How often do we all wake up and feel that, or at least hope for it?

I loved the passion and poignancy of the story, Saving Up, particularly the line, "But tumbleweeds gather so many little and big things." They do indeed, just like life.

"Woman are my solace. My only solace" in Juana Macho is another memorable phrase from that tale of want and torment. Memorable too is the poetic-like line,"Better to step away, to remember that nothing keeps" in the story, Faithless.

Thelma writes with a smooth and engaging simplicity that's at the same time layered and deep. The kind of book you can read in one nice gulp, or as little appetizers to feed your day.

Muy bueno!

The clear simple prose is a marvel and the stories are timeless and universal. This is a delightful read. I am reminded of listening to stories as a child; the way my mind entered a space outside of space and time and became entranced. Yet these are also hard reads; hard not in the sense of difficult, but in the sense they do not shy away from the fact that life is hard on all of us. But life is filled with surprises too. Thelma Reyna captures " all that" in her stories.

The stories in this book don't have a solid beginning, middle, and end. They just sort've plop you in the middle of it and it just goes nowhere from there.

Most of the time after I've finished a story, I was like, "Yeah....and?" What happens next?

They just left me unfulfilled and kept me wondering.

However, the author does make up for it with good writing. The best story in this collection was "Little Box."

"The Heavens Weep for Us: and other stories" is an endearing display of tender reflection. I rarely read books in which the human predicament is contemplated with such softness and kindness. I enjoyed the sweetness Thelma Reyna brought to literature with this work.

The short story "Marry Me" moved me most. It added much dimensionality to the subtle intricacies of its "everyday" characters. Each person melded uniquely into their polarities: selfless and selfish, heroic and strange, "good" and "bad." Their flaws and attributes became one in the same. The characters in this story and many others were human to the marrow. "The Heavens Weep for Us: and other stories" embraced the experiences of its amalgam of characters with empathetic pensiveness. Echoing perhaps, the way we hope The Heavens might do for us.

In her first short-story collection, "The Heavens Weep for Us and Other Stories" (Outskirts Press, $14.95 paperback), Thelma T. Reyna depicts loss with such understatement and eloquence that the reader has no choice but to go along for the ride.

In "Marry Me," the successful, college-educated Diego must leave wonderful job opportunities in Virginia and return to Laredo where his recently widowed mother has now suffered a heart attack.

As his mother learns to "re-invent" herself according to doctor's orders, Diego suddenly finds himself being harassed by the elderly grocery store owner, Kika, who repeatedly asks Diego to marry her. Poor Diego soon becomes the butt of leering jokes, while his mother blossoms into a healthier and happier person.

We eventually learn the impetus for Kika's infatuation with Diego, which is both surprising and heartbreaking.

The story "Little Box" introduces us to Petra, a retired Arizona native visiting her successful attorney daughter, Celeste, in Chicago. Celeste is married to an equally successful businessman, and both have decided to focus on their careers rather than on having children. But their marriage otherwise appears to be perfect.

While walking her daughter's dog one day, Petra happens upon an empty jewelry box by a trash can: "She picked up the empty box. Yes, that's what she thought it said: Neiman Marcus. The graceful golden script was stamped across the cream-colored satin lining the lid."

Petra hides this almost magical box in Celeste's condo for safekeeping. This innocent act eventually leads to unintended and devastating results for Celeste's relationship. Indeed, despite Petra's belief to the contrary, her daughter's marriage has much in common with the pretty but empty jewelry box.

The title story reads almost like a poem in its imagery, intensity and lyricism as we witness the burial of two children:

"Black umbrellas clump together, edges wavy with dotted water. Neighbors and brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers meld together in common pain."

With this short piece (not quite three pages), Reyna demonstrates an assured literary style, one that captures what should be unspeakable loss. But she does, in fact, give voice to such suffering.

Reyna does not abandon all hope for salvation from life's many insults and afflictions. For example, in "Saving Up," a wife recounts the horrible fire that has disfigured her husband, but he remains a vital force in her life despite a painful recovery.

With the 12 stories that make up this collection, Thelma T. Reyna paints a candid and unflinching portrait of what it means to walk this earth and experience both the good and the bad. She offers an urgent voice for those who have survived, or are trying to survive. This is an important, rewarding and ultimately inspiring book.

[This review first appeared in the El Paso Times.]

"Beautifully crafted short stories. In theme, they are reminiscent of Roald Dahl's short stories, but in an up-to-date urban setting.

If by the title you are looking for spiritual and inspirational stories ala Reader's Digest, then look elsewhere. The stories here stark, slightly dark, and sometimes chilling. They will jar your spirit, as well as lift it."