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<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\nCustomer Review<\/h1>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Dear All:It is rare that I can’t find the words, but this is one of them. Incredible review in Amazon and Goodreads on my short story collection. The Fish Tank: And Other Short Stories Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 starsA jewel ***** ByGisela Hausmannon November 4, 2017 Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra’s … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaelenawrites.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaelenawrites.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaelenawrites.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaelenawrites.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaelenawrites.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mariaelenawrites.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2896,"href":"https:\/\/mariaelenawrites.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406\/revisions\/2896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mariaelenawrites.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaelenawrites.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mariaelenawrites.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Stories” is a jewel.
Of the four sections, “For the Fun of Writing (Just Because), Soul Songs (Stories from<\/span>
the Cuban <\/span>Diaspora), Prologues (prequel stories from upcoming novels), and The End,<\/span>
“Soul Songs” <\/span>impressed me the most. Having lived in the Florida Keys, home to many<\/span>
Cuban refugees, <\/span>Alonso-Sierra’s stories reminded me of similar stories I have heard.<\/span>
Alonso-Sierra’s gift for writing allows the readers to “see” her characters’ thinking, <\/span>
struggle <\/span>with conflict, and the will to overcome whatever the obstacle.<\/span>
Her book features a lot of strong women and I liked that.<\/span>
In “Jerry’s Gift” it’s Maureen who got out of a non working marriage. Though she<\/span>
supported her ex, <\/span>Jerry, while he studied corporate law, he did not value her as a <\/span>
<\/a>
partner and his family did not treasure <\/span>her. But Jerry isn’t as perfect as he thinks. <\/span>
Busy with philandering and trying to manipulate things so <\/span>Maureen’d get as little <\/span>
money as possible, Jerry forgot that had hid her jewelry together with his late <\/span><\/div>\n
box nobody would <\/span>ever be able to track it back to her.<\/span><\/div>\n
But, having taken “the gift” Maureen doesn’t sit idle, she builds a new life for <\/span>
herself. And, she enjoys it. “… Every afternoon, after she stopped the refurbishing, <\/span>
she made a pitcher of lemonade and sat facing<\/span> the eighty-year-old maple trees <\/span>
at the edge of the property. Her ritual. Her space. Her world…”<\/span><\/div>\n
In “Rites of Passage” it’s Kate who overcomes her disliking of roller coasters to <\/span>
support her son Bryan. <\/span>Finally tall enough, Bryan wants to ride the highest, scariest <\/span>
roller coaster but his father won’t let him <\/span> go alone or ride with him. Supporting <\/span>
Bryan is so empowering that Kate overcomes her own emotional <\/span>restraints.<\/span><\/div>\n
“… With a heartfelt sigh, I stand in line again.”
In “Bubbles Don’t Bring Smiles” it’s Abue Cachita (Abue, shortened from <\/span>
abuela, spanish for <\/span>grandmother) who keeps her cool as Castro’s soldiers <\/span>
are approaching, searching for American <\/span> goods while the \u201c… glorious <\/span>
Comandante (Castro) is at the front lines. He will not cower to the<\/span><\/div>\n
Alonso-Sierra features not only clever women stores, there is also a detective <\/span>
Nick Larson Story, <\/span>with a Alonso-Sierra’s third novel about his detective work <\/span>
forthcoming.<\/span><\/div>\n
Maybe not surprising the story that moved me the most is The Fish Tank* <\/span>
(*2015 Finalist <\/span>at Carried in Waves Contest from the University of Cork, Ireland), <\/span>
also depicted on the cover.<\/span><\/div>\n
The opening of this story holds the clue
“… (Matilda’s) back created a perfect parallel to the chair\u2019s backrest barely two <\/span>
inches behind her, <\/span>and the organza skirt she wore, a faded green, frothed around <\/span>
her legs, its color a pitiful contrast <\/span>against the vivid white petticoat underneath. <\/span>
She tried not to move, unlike the other adults inside t<\/span>he room who shifted nervously<\/span>
in kaleidoscope patterns…”<\/span><\/div>\n
Matilda is about to leave Cuba with her mother. They are going to join her Papi <\/span>
who escaped after <\/span>the Playa Gir\u00f3n invasion. Matilda brings only one toy, “… a beautiful <\/span>
Snow White doll, crafted in <\/span>Switzerland, with a smooth porcelain face, round innocent <\/span>
eyes, rosy cheeks, and a pout for a smile. <\/span>A family heirloom, handed down from mother <\/span>
to daughter for four generations…”<\/span><\/div>\n
As she waits with her mother in “the fish tank,” a holding room, suspense rises <\/span>
by the minute. People <\/span>are still getting removed, they won’t make it to freedom. <\/span>
When Matilda and her mother are finally <\/span>about to leave, one of the guards notices <\/span>
the doll… (no spoilers from this reviewer)<\/span><\/div>\n
Remember, the clue was in the opening of the story! Things are never obvious.
It’s another “strong woman”-story, only this time is a girl.
LOVED this book. A must-read for Floridians, Cubans, women, history buffs, <\/span>
an<\/span>d lovers of good books.<\/span>
5*****
Gisela Hausmann, author & blogger<\/span><\/p>\n