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mlynes_author's review
4.0
"Tales from the Family Tree" by Ernestine Rose is a collection of ten diverse short stories, all bound together under the rubric of family dynamics and inter-personal byplay.
These tales are easy to relate to. We all know people, either in our own family tree or in those of our neighbors and friends, who we could easily imagine re-embodied as one or more of the fictional characters portrayed.
These are also difficult reads. Ms Rose does not shy away from serious subjects; rape, incest, abuse, drugs, violence, neglect and the lingering effects of multi-generational slavery are recurring themes. Accordingly I would not recommend this collection to a teen or preteen audience in the absence of adult guidance.
However, it likely would serve as a good text for a freshman or sophomore semester high-school reading or English class.
I gave the overall work a rating of four stars. Although there were a couple of stories which I especially enjoyed, (notably 'A Familiar Face', a five star plus), there were also a few which I would rate lower, three or even less stars. Some of these stories appear a bit contrived or have rather abrupt endings. Others, for example 'The Recipie', in my humble opinion could be much longer, perhaps even worked into a novel or novella length work.
That said, fans of short biographical fiction will certainly not be disappointed and I do recommend this book wholeheartedly to them.
These tales are easy to relate to. We all know people, either in our own family tree or in those of our neighbors and friends, who we could easily imagine re-embodied as one or more of the fictional characters portrayed.
These are also difficult reads. Ms Rose does not shy away from serious subjects; rape, incest, abuse, drugs, violence, neglect and the lingering effects of multi-generational slavery are recurring themes. Accordingly I would not recommend this collection to a teen or preteen audience in the absence of adult guidance.
However, it likely would serve as a good text for a freshman or sophomore semester high-school reading or English class.
I gave the overall work a rating of four stars. Although there were a couple of stories which I especially enjoyed, (notably 'A Familiar Face', a five star plus), there were also a few which I would rate lower, three or even less stars. Some of these stories appear a bit contrived or have rather abrupt endings. Others, for example 'The Recipie', in my humble opinion could be much longer, perhaps even worked into a novel or novella length work.
That said, fans of short biographical fiction will certainly not be disappointed and I do recommend this book wholeheartedly to them.
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