Customer Reviews

THE SWAN: Tales of the Sacramento Valley

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the new Swan, the 2007 Edition with feathers all bright white, fluffed and ready to lull and captivate you at the same time. Andy O'Hara has improved on the un-improvable this time around. The weave is tight, but so smoothly done the stories blend into each other, carrying two common themes to fruition by the turn of the last page. The fun is how Andy has taken the reader on a swing through his beloved Sacramento Valley. He describes obscure towns giving us a mental picture along with the smell of the dust, the fields, the eucalyptus groves and more. The stories, Andy claims, are fiction, but I would bet most have been drawn from his own experiences. A great read and a great buy, one I will enjoy over and over again...J.B. Bergstad

I began this book with the expectation of the usual "local color" stories about an area. A nice surprise to find myself immersed in something new and original from a writer. This hooked me from the beginning. Each chapter took me to a new town in the Sacramento Valley and kept me engrossed. With the trivia being produced today, it's nice to read something that is thoughtful and leaves you with something. This was great.

Andy O' Hara's tales in "The Swan" offer a historically charged and compelling look at the people and events that shaped the Sacramento Valley. Poets, soldiers, lost souls, and dreamers come to life in an informed, often earthy account steeped in the lore of humanity. While each story can be enjoyed on its own, a complete tale in and of itself, together they present an evocative, and at times heartrending, portrait of a place that is clearly close to the author's heart. Silvery like the river that crosses its vale, polished with the hues of humidity and oak, "The Swan" is storytelling at its powerful best. Put this one on the shelf next to "To A God Unknown" by Steinbeck and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Love and Demons."

Comments about this book

"The Swan is a wonderful read. Full of humor, tragedy, and suspense. There are 14 individual stories, but all have the common thread of their setting: Sacramento Valley (California). Each heart-felt tragedy ends on a note of hope! Mr. O'Hara's writing style is smooth and free-flowing. The book is well written and book cover eye-catching! I really enjoyed this book and it will be one I will reread for the simple pleasure of reading an interesting and good book! I highly recommend this book and look forward to more books by Mr. O'Hara."
said Linda D. Delgado author of the Islamic Rose Books series.

Andy O'Hara is a storyteller who understands the value of a good story, well told. And that is what you'll find in The Swan - a collection of very good stories, very well told by a writer who understands that a whispered word can pack more punch than a raised voice. These are stories of love and death (and really what else is there worth writing about?). They are not easy stories and they are, perhaps, uneven (which is just another way of saying you'll have your favorites). They are written with a gentleness of spirit that some might call old-fashioned. So be it. I just call it good writing.

This 2007 revised edition is a collection of wonderful provoking short stories. Each as engaging as the one before. The descriptions of the small towns made me feel that I was in each place; seeing and feeling the scenery, people and even the stars.
I could not put it down. My only disappointment was that there was not another story and I had to close the book with its beautiful cover.

You are guaranteed to fall in love with the Sacramento Valley as you read The Swan. Andy O'Hara masterfully combines the charm of yesterday's classic type plots with today's sparkling, crisp prose. The magic of this book will stay with you long after you have finished reading. You will be drawn back to re-read it again and again. Each time you will discover a new nuance. Spend an easy afternoon seeing the Sacramento Valley through the eyes of an exciting new writer who knows the area so well. If you've never been there you will feel as though you have. If you are familiar with Sacramento Valley, you will see it through fresh new eyes. This timeless, elegant treasure also makes a wonderful gift for loved ones.

I really enjoyed this anthology. Andrew O'Hara is a unique story teller in the sense that one gets quickly absorbed into each of the stories and one can hardly put it down. I had a hard time putting it down. The cover I should mention is absolutly gorgeous and although we should not judge a book by its cover this one indeed does invite you to hours of well written stories that will keep you absorbed for hours. This is one book that wont' disapoint you in any way.

I believe that a well written short story is easy to imagine but difficult to capture. Mr. O'Hara, however, seems to capture different moments and ideas in his short stories with effortless flair. His writing is both sparse and ornate--which is just the way I like my stories. His words took me to places that were magical and raw. Reading The Swan also made me want to visit the Sacremento Valley immediately.

Mr. O'Hara has given us such a gift with this book. I will read it again and again. I am honored to have it in my collection.

lavish Lines/luscious Lies

The Swan: Tales of the Sacramento Valley is the debut book of Andrew F. O'Hara, a former patrolman and current editor of the online magazine, The Jimston Journal www.jimstonjournal.com. Mr. O' Hara's book is a collection of short stories and from past experiences, any collection of short stories that I've read with the exception of Carol Riley Cain's Ghosts, Spooks and Spirits of South Texas, have been rather dismal or uninspiring to say the least. But this little 140-paged book was a welcomed change.
The Swan, as mentioned before, is a diverse range of short stories. From humorous yarns about a nagging wife to a patrolman who's losing his sanity and resorting to alcohol for some solace, there is something here that caters to everyone's taste.
There's a mantra that has been around for many years now and that is, "never judge a book by its cover." Well when one glances upon the cover of The Swan, they are greeted with an image of a swan with its wings poised in the air as it glides along the shimmering waters of some anonymous pond or lake. This image of pleasantry does somehow go hand-in-hand with the stories of this book as they are beautifully written. Every tale was unique and written in a fresh approach but what was really distinctive was the method in which the author was able to breathe new life into each character. From start to finish, one has a vivid picture in their mind of the character's actions in all the compositions. My favourites are "A Poet's Song" and "An Act of Cowardice" because these contain, in my opinion, the strongest characters of the entire collection. In "A Poet's Song", an old husband and poet, has to listen to the nagging of his wife as she no longer likes to see him writing poetry. Her biting words or comments ring in the ears of the reader and you cannot help but feel pity for the old man. The main character in, "An Act of Cowardice", is a World War II vet who feels guilty about a deed he did in his past and although anyone in his position would've done the same if they were in his position, his feeling of guilt resonates with the reader. Another talent that O'Hara possesses is a certain richness in his descriptions. For those of you who may never get a chance to visit the Sacramento Valley or indeed the US, Andrew paints a scenic picture of the location in which each tale is set in. It's these attributes that make Tales of The Sacramento Valley a worthwhile addition to your bookshelf.
If you're remotely interested in compiling a book of short stories, then The Swan is a must read as O'Hara expertly displays how it's done. With splendid characterisation, picturesque descriptions, and excellent stories, this should be on everyone's "to buy" list and would make a great gift at Christmas to pass away the winter blues.

Aidan Lucid
www.iol.ie/~thelucidreview