Two Short Shorts
Mark Fine
- PRE-LAUNCH
- REVIEWS“I
- enjoyed
- the
- “Karmic
- Odds”
- short
- story
- tremendously.
- Structure,
- style,
- content,
- everything,
- just
- perfect,
- and
- lots
- of
- fruit
- for
- thought.
- Yip,
- is
- it
- not
- true
- that
- the
- very
- things
- that
- attract,
- sooner
- or
- later
- become
- repulsive.
- I
- think
- it’s
- all
- about
- personal
- space…
- not
- having
- enough
- to
- grow
- to
- full
- potential.”
- –
- Martie
- Coetser
- Pozyn“With
- the
- same
- adept
- use
- of
- prose
- he
- shows
- in
- his
- full
- length
- novel,
- The
- Zebra
- Affaire,
- Fine
- weaves
- a
- tale
- that
- is
- both
- compelling
- and
- disturbing.
- This
- is
- where
- the
- author
- spins
- his
- best
- magic
- web.
- Kudos
- to
- Mark
- Fine
- for
- not
- only
- driving
- in
- the
- knife
- to
- the
- hilt
- but
- twisting
- it
- skillfully,
- and
- making
- me
- almost
- jump
- up
- and
- shout
- out
- “hurray”!
- –
- Elizabeth
- Newton“Some
- of
- the
- humor
- in
- the
- book
- is
- wonderful,
- from
- ‘Karmic
- Odds’:
- “food
- being
- served
- with
- the
- delicacy
- of
- a
- panel
- beater
- at
- an
- auto
- body
- shop”
- –
- “the
- gadget
- looked
- like
- the
- progeny
- of
- an
- otherworldly
- romantic
- liaison
- between
- a
- vacuum
- cleaner
- and
- a
- gum
- ball
- machine.”
- –
- Claire
- Hamlisch“Another
- wonderful
- collection
- of
- short
- stories
- coming
- from
- a
- talented
- author
- at
- Readers
- Circle
- of
- Avenue
- Park.
- The
- stories
- are
- wildly
- different.
- Like
- ‘Mark
- of
- the
- Hyena,’
- a
- story
- of
- a
- disdainful
- social
- science
- guru
- meeting
- his
- match
- in
- a
- San
- Bushman.
- And
- no
- matter
- how
- hard
- I
- tried
- to
- figure
- it
- out,
- I
- was
- surprised
- every
- time
- by
- the
- clever
- endings.
- Bravo!”
- –
- Ulla
- H“An
- amazing
- adventure
- of
- short
- stories
- that
- has
- a
- little
- something
- for
- everyone.
- My
- favorite
- was
- Mark
- of
- the
- Hyena,
- due
- to
- the
- sheer
- nature
- of
- deceit
- offered.
- Each
- story
- takes
- between
- 20-30
- minutes
- to
- read
- and
- will
- leave
- you
- 100%
- satisfied.”
- –
- Grimm“’Mark
- of
- the
- Hyena’
- is
- from
- this
- writer’s
- perspective
- written
- in
- the
- most
- enviable
- prose
- style.”
- –
- Jason
- GreensidesAn
- incorrigible
- researcher,
- author
- Mark
- Fine
-
- immigrated
- to
- America
- from
- South
- Africa,
- in
- an
- effort
- to
- understand
- what
- it
- means
- to
- be
- ‘a
- stranger
- in
- a
- strange
- land’.
- The
- stories
- in
- this
- folio
- are
- not
- autobiographical,
- nevertheless
- they
- reflect
- Mark’s
- stated
- belief,
- “Whether
- a
- square
- peg
- out
- of
- water
- or
- a
- fish
- in
- a
- round
- hole;
- at
- best
- it
- is
- awkward,
- or
- at
- worst,
- it
- can
- be
- downright
- deadly.”An
- O.
- Henry
- and
- Roald
- Dahl
- fan,
- Mark
- has
- found
- short
- stories
- to
- be
- life’s
- rich
- filler
- amidst
- the
- stuff
- of
- boredom
- and
- routine.
- However,
- those
- dull
- lulls
- between
- lurches
- of
- hyperactivity
- are
- opportunities
- for
- creative
- escapism.
- All
- that’s
- needed
- is
- a
- short
- story,
- a
- quiet
- moment,
- and
- the
- reader’s
- lusty
- pleasure
- in
- the
- written word.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
