A man infatuated with ivy. A woman pining for lost love. In a Turkish square, ancient buildings lament a devastating explosion. An unlikely friendship struck up with a homeless person. A journey to a magical place that once visited can never be found again. The camaraderie between the patients in a cancer ward. A writer who has lost his muse. A tragedy that leads to dementia.These are just a few … just a few of seventy individual tales set in locations straddling continents, which portray war, love, hate, hope, greed, revenge, despair, humour, mystical happenings, fantasy, and so much more. Like ripples expanding on the surface of a pond to reach its banks, they converge in this anthology of flash fiction and short stories by Sebnem E. Sanders in her debut release.
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First, a confession, I cannot remember the last time I read a collection of short stories, Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury somehow sticks in my mind, and while I have enjoyed Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe and the like; I am, and probably will remain, for the most part, a novel reader. It was mere curiosity that found me asking to review this anthology. Now, having said that I must also confess that Ripples on the Pond just might have me looking at the genre a bit more closely. What I found, my peeps and fellow travelers, in Ripples on the Pond is a compelling collection of well crafted stories. Stories that evoke the gamut of human emotions and experiences; glimpses of love, joy, loss, and hope permeate the pages and like a pebble dropped into water, the stories leave ripples of humanity seeking truth and fulfillment. A brief example from Mummy’s Torchlight:
Toby bowed, turned around, and left the building, his head bursting with thoughts. His hatred and vengeance had dissolved into sadness and pity, but mostly sadness…a feeling of loss. Something he’d have to live with for the rest of his life. He knew one thing for certain. He’d never return. Before he drove away from the Acacia Retreat, Toby held the torch tight in his hand. “I have confronted him, Mummy. I’ve done it for you and me. Rest in peace.” On the way home, he stopped on an old wooden bridge and threw the torch into the mirror surfaced creek. He waited as the ripples extended outward and disappeared.
Time and again throughout the 71 stories, one comes up against harsh realities, compassion, and much, much more that make us human. Entertainment and enlightenment are in store for you, dear reader. 5 stars
Blurb
A man infatuated with ivy. A woman pining for lost love. In a Turkish square, ancient buildings lament a devastating explosion. An unlikely friendship struck up with a homeless person. A journey to a magical place that once visited can never be found again. The camaraderie between the patients in a cancer ward. A writer who has lost his muse. A tragedy that leads to dementia. These are just a few of seventy individual tales set in locations straddling continents, which portray war, love, hate, hope, greed, revenge, despair, humour, mystical happenings, fantasy, and so much more. Like ripples expanding on the surface of a pond to reach its banks, they converge in this anthology of flash fiction and short stories by Sebnem E. Sanders in her debut release.
Short Bio
Sebnem E. Sanders is a native of Istanbul, Turkey. Currently she lives on the eastern shores of the Southern Aegean where she dreams and writes Flash Fiction and Flash Poesy, as well as longer works of fiction. Her flash stories have been published on the Harper Collins Authonomy Blog, The Drabble, Sick Lit Magazine, Twisted Sister Lit Mag and Spelk Fiction. She has a completed manuscript, The Child of Heaven and two works in progress, The Child of Passion and The Lost Child. Her collection of short and flash fiction stories, Ripples on the Pond, has been published in December 2017. Her stories have also been published in two Anthologies: Paws and Claws and One Million Project, Thriller Anthology. More information can be found at her website where she publishes some of her work: https://sebnemsanders.wordpress.com/
This delightful collection of short stories encompasses a span of human emotions, frailties and flaws as well as a wider perspective on what it means to be human. Sebnem Sanders examines loss, love, despair, joy as well as the philosophical picture of our place in the world and our relationship with nature. In ‘Selma of Soghut’ she explores transience and ageing, in ‘Shards of Glass’ the magical realism of another self performing shocking acts, and in ‘King of Hearts’ an unlikely friendship is struck between a dying man and a sick child.
I very much enjoyed the wisdom and observations in these stories along with their magic—there are unexpected twists and turns and always, a sensitivity and tenderness.
The 70 short fictions in this collection can be read and enjoyed one at a time, in any order; or one after the other in quick succession. They are stories of characters at a moment in time, when ripples of the past catch up to them or when they start a ripple that will touch another. Many of them are also little thought experiments, musing on love, loneliness, aging, home, and many other themes. Some have a melancholy tone, while others are humorous, erotic or creepy (or all three at once). It is easy to imagine them in conversation with each other, holding up various facets of the same theme. Recommended for readers who enjoy short fiction in a variety of genres.