Review: Monarch: Stories by Emily Jon Tobias

 

Genre: Short Story Collection

Description:

Most, maybe all, of these stories have been published in various publications over the last several years, but are all gathered together here.

Author:

“Emily Jon Tobias is an American author and poet, Pushcart Prize nominee, and author of the debut story collection, MONARCH (Black Lawrence Press, 2024). She is an award-winning writer whose work has been featured in literary journals such as Santa Clara Review, Talking River Review, Flying South Literary Journal, Furrow Literary Journal, The Opiate Magazine, The Ocotillo Review, Jerry Jazz Musician, Typehouse Literary Magazine, Tahoma Literary Review, Big Muddy, Spoon Knife, Peauxdunque Review, and elsewhere. Midwestern-raised, she now lives and writes on the coast of Southern California. She holds an MFA in Writing from Pacific University Oregon.”

Appraisal:

In the introduction the author talks a bit about her life and the things she went through that inspired these stories. The stories mostly feature what I’ll describe as women going through tough situations who in spite of often having troubled pasts are also strong women and find a way to deal with and get through the current difficulty. I found the stories inspiring. They also got me thinking about how things that appear one way from the outside might be much more complex if you understand the true situation. In summary these stories are excellent and thought provoking.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language and situations best suited for mature readers.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advanced reviewer copy, so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words