Customer Reviews

Surviving Nashville: Short Stories

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's 2:24 AM and I couldn't wait until daylight to tell the world how much I loved this book. The characters grabbed hold and wouldn't let go, and I know I'll linger in their spell for a long, long time. Savor this collection in little bites; it's too wonderful to gobble down in a rush. Red Wax Rose

Truth really is stranger than fiction. Surviving Nashville is a fiction book but you know that there are thousands of people who suffer through similar trials. Stacy brings difficult situations into healing and comedic freeing moments. Her writing brings characters to life. Some characters whom we want to meet for lunch and some other we want to throw our lunch on! Her stories would make great films!!

From the first page I realized the author was a gifted writer and forced myself to consume the stories slowly, like fine chocolates, savoring the experience. These stories are slices of life, glimpses into the lives of characters we can identify with. When I reached the last page, I knew I would have to start over ... the stories are that good.

The stories of "Surviving Nashville" are so powerful, I could only take a little bit at a time (like horseradish!). I love what Barton does with voice and dialogue--I get the sense of watching a film or a play, and the conversation flows naturally but with many levels of meaning. And Barton doesn't shy away from harrowing scenes. I am amazed that she gets such earth-shattering stuff into tiny short stories. Overall a great read.

This collection is utterly fabulous! Stacy Barton has a gift -- the subtle strokes of a watercolorist and the bluntness of a prizefighter all rolled into one. I purely loved this collection of short stories and I can't recommend it highly enough.

This is one of those books that when you finish each story, you're a little sad because you care so much about the characters. Ms Barton's writing style puts me in mind of Pat Conroy, another one of my favorite writers.

I cannot get enough of these people!

If you haven't read it, well, READ it!

This book is amazing. When each story ends, you wish it would continue on forever, but then you realize it ended right where it needed to and said everything it needed to. These stories introduce us to characters so real, you wonder who in your family Ms. Barton talked to. The writing is elegant and deeply moving. I found myself underlining sentences because they so strongly struck a cord. I look forward to more and more from this amazingly gifted writer. Amazing. Powerful. Captivating!

Stacy's characters are so real you feel you know them. The southern dialogue and choice of words are poetic. My emotions ran up and down the scale as each storyteller revealed their lives. Loved every one of them! When's the next collection?

While thesde stories are almost uniformly about the survivors of tragedy (and therefore offer little to make one smile), I would read them stories simply for the beauty of the words. In her writing, Barton has the economy of a poet, using spare but resonant words, Her dialog is wondrously authentic and would sound real to anyone who has lived in the South. As most of the stories are written in the first-person, they come across as authentic and deeply personal. One suspects that Barton is not unfamiliar with the dark places of which she writes. It is, simply, good writing.

I enjoyed reading Staci's stories immensely. Not only were the stories powerful and sad and exquisite moments of ordinary lives, but the way in which Staci tells these stories shows a strong grasp over technique as well.
I highly recommend this collection.