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Short stories are not my thing, but until I got to Mr. P & the Wind (a lengthy one with chapters) I thought this was going to be 4 stars. However I didn't care for that one for a number of reasons I won't go into here.

McBride remains one of my favourite authors based on what I have read of his so far, and I would have given 5 stars to at least one of the stories in here, which for me is always very high. Much of this is historical fiction. McBride is great at twist endings (there is at least one in this collection) but some of his stories end very abruptly--personally, I think longer works are his forte. That said, I quite enjoyed three of the stories in here and liked most of them. But that last one, for me, was enough to move the rating down.

I can't recall, did you read / enjoy Deacon King Kong?

That's all I've read of his and I loved it!

I feel like you might have chimed in when I reviewed it, but I don't recall reading your review if you did.

That book has me interested in checking out his other books.

Meli wrote: "I can't recall, did you read / enjoy Deacon King Kong?

That's all I've read of his and I loved it!

I feel like you might have chimed in when I reviewed it, but I don't recall rea..."

Yes, I rounded Deacon King Kong up to 5 stars. So far I've given him two 5 stars, one 4 star and one 3 star, so he's way up there for me. Someday I need to read his National Book Award winning book as well.

I enjoyed your review, Karin. I too, read McBride's collection of stories. A few left me feeling indifferent and some I liked very much. My favorite story was The Christmas Dance.

Holly R W wrote: "I enjoyed your review, Karin. I too, read McBride's collection of stories. A few left me feeling indifferent and some I liked very much. My favorite story was The Christmas Dance."

I liked that one as well--in fact, I liked all the ones you listed in your review. I just noticed your link (ignored it before) to the music. One of my kids plays tenor sax (the tall, thin, quiet blonde).

I had to listen to Count Basie playing 'Polka Dots and Moonbeams' after reading the story (what a great name for a song)... Yours is a very musical household, Karin! How nice to have a kid that plays tenor sax.

Holly R W wrote: "I had to listen to Count Basie playing 'Polka Dots and Moonbeams' after reading the story (what a great name for a song)... Yours is a very musical household, Karin! How nice to have a kid that pla..."

It's Very Loud and I am not a big saxophone fan but now she only plays at church (not serious with it, sadly, but then it's hard to make $$ with that instrument, but it's too bad because she is a natural at improv and could have done well in jazz.) That said, I like the tenor and bari saxophones, but the style of music of that song isn't my cup of tea. But I loved the ending of that story.

I can tune out my son's trumpet after all of these years, but doubt I could ever learn to turn out her sax (hard to say).

BUT she has a fabulous antique one we got for a great price and found via serendipity! Because it is a tricky one to play due to slightly different key arrangements it's the least expensive way to get a really good professional one. It's nicknamed the Chu Berry one because he liked them. They hale from the 1920s. She prefers the sound of the older saxophones which are made of different metals than contemporary ones are.

I'm not a big short story fan either, but I loved The Color of Water and will be reading Deacon King Kong soon. You've piqued my interest for this story collection.

Karin wrote: "Holly R W wrote: "I had to listen to Count Basie playing 'Polka Dots and Moonbeams' after reading the story (what a great name for a song)... Yours is a very musical household, Karin! How nice to h..."

Karin, I love the pictures and the info about your daughter that you added.