The Acorn Stories (Acorn, Texas Book 1)
by Duane SimolkePublish: Dec 13, 2007Series: Acorn, TexasLiterary Fiction Humor Book Overview
The Sky Is Always Falling in This West Texas Town!These tales explore the humor, drama, secrets, and scandals of a small town.From romantic comedy to razor-sharp satire to moments of quiet reflection, Duane Simolke’s award-winning tales transform a fictional West Texas town into a tapestry of human experiences.˃˃˃ The Individual Stories:“Acorn”: When we arrive at the fictional West Texas town of Acorn, the narrative keeps shifting between Regina and Dirk, who both seek control over their relationship. “Flip, Turn”: A different scene from the narrator's amusing but unproductive life comes to him every time he turns to swim in the opposite direction. “Keeping A Secret”: A little boy wants to shield his mother and his little brother from a dangerous situation. “Survival”: A young high school teacher, deaf and gay, clashes with a popular football coach. “Paying The Rent”: In this politically incorrect tale, an inarticulate young man hopes to marry a rich woman so he can pay the rent, but he finds her repulsive. “Morgana Le Fay”: A widow finds her new romance disrupted by her Siamese cat's strange behavior. “Your Daughter”: Gretchen's approach to raising a daughter and maintaining a marriage requires ignoring problems and carefully orchestrating conversations. “Knock”: A father sees his daughter abandon her Mexican heritage, and he now fears other types of abandonment. “Come With Me”: The conflicting influence of her overbearing sister and her supportive husband forces Becky to re-evaluate her ambitions. “Dead Enough”: Farcical look at English departments, tabloid TV, the publishing industry, and America's superstar culture. “Mae”: Standing by her husband's grave, an elderly woman looks back at the joys and challenges of marriage and motherhood. “Timothy Fast”: In this satirical retelling of the Faustian myth, a Jewish businessman finds himself pulled into small-town politics. “Mirrors: A Blackmail Letter”: The owner of an art gallery becomes the target of a “family values” witch-hunt, spear-headed by Acorn's closeted (and supposedly “ex-gay”) mayor. “Echoes”: A time of unexpected changes for Becky and her husband. “Oak”: Julie Briggs can only talk to her mother by leaving messages on her answering machine, but she refuses to give up her voice. “Acorn Pie”: An unusual weekend in the life of an unusual town. ˃˃˃ Rave Reviews!“A lush tangle of small-town life branches out in this engrossing collection of short stories.” -Kirkus Reviews“The ability to depict such a wide cross section of humanity, including details of each character’s breadth of knowledge and experience, takes a talented, insightful author, and Duane Simolke is such a writer.” -E. Conley, Betty’s Books “There are people that you like, some that you can't wait to see if they get theirs.” -Joe Wright, StoneWall Society “When you finish, when you put the book aside, Acorn will still be with you.” -E. Carter Jones, author of Absence of Faith˃˃˃ Award-Winning!Like Simolke’s books Degranon and Holding Me Together, The Acorn Stories received a StoneWall Society Pride in the Arts Award.˃˃˃ Read More!Simolke returned to Acorn by editing and contributing to the spinoff The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer.Scroll up and grab a copy today of this light-hearted and unusual collection!
