The Boy With the Coin12/3/2018 Author: Christine Van Deventer (Twitter)  Genre: Literary Fiction
Reading time: approx. 15 minutes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. The striking thing about this work is how the author starts it. You take a few steps in, then suddenly realize you're in quicksand. Not the bad "throw me a vine" kind, but the kind that drives your curiosity to solve the mystery presented in the opening lines. There is action that provides the backstory, presenting it in a way that does not feel disjointed, it weaves into the narrative seamlessly. There are a few parts that leave you wanting just a few more tidbits of detail, but not in a way that detracts from the overall story. A good short story, given its limitations on length, will provide you clues and let you fill in the blanks. Without revealing too much of the plot, the story deals with some of the big questions all of us might ask ourselves when we sense death is near. Overall, this story does everything that a short story should do. It focuses on one thing and paints background in that context, it makes you think, and leaves you satisfied when you are finished reading. PicksMy picks are a collection of reviews from fellow short story authors. I've tried to procure stories from different genres, from a wide variety of authors. Most importantly, you'll know how long it will take you to finish reading them.
Request a ReviewIf you want your short story reviewed on this page, contact me at authormsmiller@gmail.com. Stories should be no more than 5,000 words.
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