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Book Review: Sticks and Stones

Rating:

☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5

Title: Sticks and Stones

Author: M.L. Holton

Publication Date: January 3, 2022

Genre: Fiction; Short Stories

Cover:

I love the cover of Sticks and Stones. The photograph is perfect for this collection of Canadian short stories, and the font color, style, and placement present a final product that is clean yet striking.

Premise

Sticks and Stones is a collection of ten short stories connected by their shared setting: Canada. Canadian author, M.L. Holton, set out to share a collection featuring ten different styles of short stories, ranging from traditional to a personal ad to first-person nonfiction narrative. The result is a highly eclectic and entertaining afternoon read.

Why I chose this book:

Author M.L. Holton requested this review. The cover completely won me over.

First Impression:

While reading Holton’s introduction, I felt like I was listening to a TED talk. She so beautifully captured her purpose in writing this collection and the impact of the COVID pandemic on her as an author. She also put forth the idea that “to communicate through the act and art of language” is what sets humans apart from all those other mammals roaming the earth. Communication allows us to come together for the consideration of ideas and the advancement of humanity.

What I loved:

Sticks and Stones contains a quirky collection of stories that capture various moments of this thing we call life. One of my favorites is” Jojo’s Mistress,” a widower’s attempt to run a personal ad. The reader soon realizes that in his attempt to find a new companion, he instead relays the story of the heartwarming love he shared with his late wife of 46 years. “Granny Paints” captures an ordinary, yet special, moment between a Granny and her granddaughter as family stories are passed down from one generation to the next. Other stories are perhaps more thought-provoking, such as “Snow White in Cuba,” as one visitor attempts to understand another culture and reconcile it to what she has been told about this country or experienced in her own country.

Additional Thoughts:

These are not the type of stories you read and then simply walk away from. Holton’s words and themes stay with the reader for a far longer period because they touch on such deep truths of life. I recommend lingering in each story and thinking about its meaning for the individual and the collective.

Quotable Quotes:

• Short stories have long been a succinct and delightful bridge between the gymnastic extremes of poetry and the required drudgery of long-form prose. The brevity of short stories demands, ideally, an elegant efficiency that is bound with the ever-present challenge to convey meaning. For a writer, this is the ultimate short story goal: to convey meaning, elegantly and efficiently.
• In my assimilation of new ideas, I have discarded old ones. The mythology of my mind has permanently altered. New patterns of thought have forced me to abandon previously cherished and contented habits of thinking. Cuba taught me that in the endless sea of facts and opinions only thought prevents me from drowning completely. It can be found in the character of Amada, in the character of the brujo, and in the boys on the Malecon. It is not found in the Question—the heart of wondering curiosity about the human condition—it is found on the Quest.
• To lose the Gift of honest and clear communication is tantamount to losing an essential survival tool. Life without cash IS feasible, but life without MEANING is joyless and futile.

Who might enjoy this book:

Sticks and Stones is ideal for lovers of short stories who enjoy the small moments that make up this thing we call life.

Overall Impression:

Five Stars. After finishing Sticks and Stones, I felt as if Holton had displayed her full range of storytelling as she offered the reader a variety of short stories falling into different genres and styles. Holton understands the complex and even dangerous times we live in as groups face off over various religious and political issues. As she notes in her introduction, “Clashes of ideas, while heated, can, if we remain level-headed, forge new insights, deepen compassion for others and also strengthen our own resolve to protect essential Survival Truths inherited from our forebearers.” In each story, Holton allows the reader to examine personal belief systems and values within the context of her characters’ belief systems and values. In doing so, one realizes the world is not as black and white as some make it to be.

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