Frank Mundo's Blog - Posts Tagged "1992"
The Brubury Tales on Amazon's Bestseller List for Poetry
The Brubury Tales is currently #23 on Amazon's best-selling poetry books. Check it out.
Kindle --> http://www.amazon.com/The-Brubury-Tal...
Paperback (Illustrated edition) --> http://www.amazon.com/Brubury-Tales-I...
The Brubury Tales is a modern version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales set in Los Angeles just after the riots. Instead of pilgrims, The Brubury Tales follows 7 security guards on the graveyard shift, who agree to have a storytelling competition to determine vacation time. That is, whoever tells the best story receives the best vacation days, the week from Christmas to New Year's Eve.
The judge of the competition is the narrator, J.T. Glass, an English major at UCLA who describes the events and some 13 stories ("word for word" ) that are told throughout the night. Written entirely in rhyming verse, the tales themselves (based on classic stories*) are funny, sad, serious, political, romantic, religious, literary, satirical and downright dirty pieces that explore family, love, religion, race, marriage, government, education, sex and most importantly, friendship and our responsibilities to one another.
Awards for The Brubury Tales:
Poet Laureate Award Nomination from UCLA and CAL;
Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award for Poetry Book of the Year;
Bookhitch Award for the Most Innovative Book of Poetry; and
A Reason to Rhyme Award from Byline Magazine
*Dostoevsky, Dickens, Boccaccio, O Henry, Poe, Twain, Gilman, Crane, Saki, Anderson, Bierce, and even Khayyam's Rubaiyat.
Reviews
The Brubury Tales [by Frank Mundo] is a landmark book, in what is going to be -- and already is -- an exceptional, distinguished literary career. --Carolyn See of The Washington Post
Mundo's skill is astounding and has a natural cadence. These stories are intriguing and compellingly human, and soon enough the reading becomes listening. --Sacramento Book Review
With inspiration from many literary classics and plenty of original spin, The Brubury Tales is a fine collection and not one to be missed. --Midwest Book Review
The Brubury Tales is a brilliant blend of writing, combining the style of Chaucer while putting a new slant on the short stories of the classical writers. --Reader Views
A unique and powerful new book,The Brubury Tales draws upon Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and classic stories by Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, and Charles Dickens, to name a few. Frank Mundo takes risks with his writing, which is sensitive, thoughtful, and gritty. --LA Books Examiner
"The Brubury Tales by Frank Mundo is a bold homage to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Mundo defamiliarizes the tale by placing it in Los Angeles in 1992 shortly after the Riots. Seven security guards on the grave-yard shift swap stories in verse... 232 pages of words, Mundo attributes his 14 years of working as a security guard on the grave-yard shift for his ability to complete long writing projects. His authentic L.A. childhood experiences came out in his verse..." -- Mike Sonksen for KCET.org.
Kindle --> http://www.amazon.com/The-Brubury-Tal...
Paperback (Illustrated edition) --> http://www.amazon.com/Brubury-Tales-I...
The Brubury Tales is a modern version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales set in Los Angeles just after the riots. Instead of pilgrims, The Brubury Tales follows 7 security guards on the graveyard shift, who agree to have a storytelling competition to determine vacation time. That is, whoever tells the best story receives the best vacation days, the week from Christmas to New Year's Eve.
The judge of the competition is the narrator, J.T. Glass, an English major at UCLA who describes the events and some 13 stories ("word for word" ) that are told throughout the night. Written entirely in rhyming verse, the tales themselves (based on classic stories*) are funny, sad, serious, political, romantic, religious, literary, satirical and downright dirty pieces that explore family, love, religion, race, marriage, government, education, sex and most importantly, friendship and our responsibilities to one another.
Awards for The Brubury Tales:
Poet Laureate Award Nomination from UCLA and CAL;
Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award for Poetry Book of the Year;
Bookhitch Award for the Most Innovative Book of Poetry; and
A Reason to Rhyme Award from Byline Magazine
*Dostoevsky, Dickens, Boccaccio, O Henry, Poe, Twain, Gilman, Crane, Saki, Anderson, Bierce, and even Khayyam's Rubaiyat.
Reviews
The Brubury Tales [by Frank Mundo] is a landmark book, in what is going to be -- and already is -- an exceptional, distinguished literary career. --Carolyn See of The Washington Post
Mundo's skill is astounding and has a natural cadence. These stories are intriguing and compellingly human, and soon enough the reading becomes listening. --Sacramento Book Review
With inspiration from many literary classics and plenty of original spin, The Brubury Tales is a fine collection and not one to be missed. --Midwest Book Review
The Brubury Tales is a brilliant blend of writing, combining the style of Chaucer while putting a new slant on the short stories of the classical writers. --Reader Views
A unique and powerful new book,The Brubury Tales draws upon Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and classic stories by Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, and Charles Dickens, to name a few. Frank Mundo takes risks with his writing, which is sensitive, thoughtful, and gritty. --LA Books Examiner
"The Brubury Tales by Frank Mundo is a bold homage to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Mundo defamiliarizes the tale by placing it in Los Angeles in 1992 shortly after the Riots. Seven security guards on the grave-yard shift swap stories in verse... 232 pages of words, Mundo attributes his 14 years of working as a security guard on the grave-yard shift for his ability to complete long writing projects. His authentic L.A. childhood experiences came out in his verse..." -- Mike Sonksen for KCET.org.
