A Time for Poncey - And other Stories out of Skullbone [Kindle Edition]

Craig Davis (Author)

Book Description

Southern Gothic writing in the classic tradition of William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor, these stories take a scalpel to life and what we expect of it, with a generous dose of metaphysical themes and seasoned with wit.

“Fears and ambitions tangled together in his mind until he no longer knew what to desire, what there was in the world – good or ill, or that born of whatever twisted conspiracy is struck between the two – worth the price of his heart.” Life follows a mysterious path for Poncey S. Muldoon, as he finds a treasure buried since the Civil War … as his dog Judas helps teach town bully Bobby Roach a lesson … as his best friend Marlin MacLenoly adopts a stray peacock that barely escaped becoming an entrée at a failing restaurant. For residents of the small Southern town of Skullbone, the days unfold in always fascinating and always pointless ways through these entertaining and insightful stories.

“A Time for Poncey, And other Stories out of Skullbone” is an episodic collection of short stories in the Southern Gothic style. Here the reader will find hints of James Joyce’s “Ulysses” and James Thurber’s “Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” but even more so Solomon's writings in Ecclesiastes. The stories treat the questions of vanity and suffering, life and death, love and passion with empathetic humor, and will leave the reader thinking for days after the reading is done.

Product Details

• File Size: 443 KB
• Print Length: 196 pages
• Publisher: St. Celibart Press; 1 edition (August 31, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0094O49T6
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,077,425 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking September 10, 2012

By Jill P. Jones

Format:Kindle Edition

"A Time for Poncey and other Stories out of Skullbone" is a series of short stories about a frustrated boy named Poncey who never seems to come out to the good in anything he seeks to accomplish. You get the gist of it from the first line in the first story, "Some days it just doesn't pay to be alive."

Each story comes complete with a little humor and a theme from Solomon's "Ecclesiastes". Poncey believes he is better than most folks in Skullbone, but he can never quite find a way to convince others. In fact, most of the time he only conveys the opposite. Poor Poncey. It's almost like you can hear him asking what's the use anyway. But still, he keeps on trying.

Craig Davis grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned his bachelor's and graduate degrees from the University of Missouri and has spent a lifetime in biblical scholarship. He has written four other books, including The Job: Based on a True Story (I Mean, This is Bound to have Happened Somewhere) which I reviewed in April, 2011.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author to review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

More About the Author

Winner of The April Reader Fiction Prize and first place in The Talent Among Us short story contest, Craig Davis has five books available for Kindle. He was born and bred in Memphis, TN, land of Elvis and pulled pork, although neither of them ever did him any good. After earning bachelor's and graduate degrees at the University of Missouri, he toiled for 20 years at newspapers, and has spent a lifetime in biblical scholarship. An amateur musician, he was once wrestled to the ground by a set of bagpipes. He has two grown daughters and one dog who refuses to grow up.