Lunch Break

by Quent Cordair

In *Lunch Break,* a collection of short stories and poems by Quent Cordair, adventure, suspense and romance rule the day as the protagonists pursue their ends with passion and perseverance. The collection includes stories originally published in *The Atlantean Press Review* and *ART Ideas.*A billionaire struggling for hope searches the world for love; a country girl with a rifle stands ready to deliver justice; a former banker washes windows on the side of a skyscraper; the daughter of a foreign official is lured into the heart of San Francisco; the son of a wealthy divorcee helps recover her lost soul; in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, a sculptor’s work inspires and uplifts; a teacher pursues an elusive assassin; a family man follows his own course in preparation for apocalypse.“…well worth the price. If you haven't read any of Quent's stories yet, I almost envy you. I'm waiting eagerly for more.” - Dianne Durante, author of the *Forgotten Delights* series “Could you read these during your lunch break? Yes. Will you want to? No. You won't want to rush yourself. You'll want to pour yourself a glass of wine, snuggle into your favorite chair, turn off your phone, and spend every luxurious minute that you can immersing yourself in these stories.” - Elizabeth O’Brien, author of *English Grammar Revolution* “…it is fuel for the spirit; it is an affirmation of life and what is good. That he writes beautifully and imaginatively adds to the reading pleasure.” - Michael Wilkinson, SculptorThe selected "A Prelude to Pleasure," "April's Justice,” “The Whistler,” “The Seduction of Santi Banesh,” “For the Woman Who Has Everything,” “The Sculpture That Won the War,” “The Hunter” and “Sheltered.”The selected "My Pledge," "Holding Your Hand," "The Line," "Your Hands," "Priceless," "In My World," "Suite Boxes," "For My Softest One" and "Clever Girl."

Genres: Poetry, Fiction

150 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2012

About the author

Quent Cordair was born in 1964 in southern Illinois. Raised in an insular fundamentalist religion, the local library became a treasured gateway to the outside world. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, he taught himself how to paint and soon began taking portrait commissions to support his writing. His first short story, “A Prelude to Pleasure,” was published by The Atlantean Press Review in 1991. In 1996, Quent Cordair Fine Art opened in Burlingame, California. Now located in Jackson, Wyoming, the gallery represents the work of thirty Romantic Realist painters and sculptors. The author’s acclaimed novels, short stories, poetry, and screenplays are drawn from a lifetime of experience and interest in adventure, romance, history, philosophy, and art. Quent lives and works in Jackson with his wife, Linda, who manages the gallery when the couple aren’t hiking or fishing with their labradoodle, Sophie, or traveling to dote on their granddaughters, Ella, Everly, Emerson, and Harlow.

Reviews

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some good short stories. My favorites are "April's Justice" and "The Seduction of Santi Banesh". "The Whistler" would be a close third. Very clever writing style. Some quotes:


Courage:
“In summary, class, courage is a requirement for achieving and maintaining values great and small – the greater the value and the less certain its achievement, the greater the requisite courage. Courage is a concomitant of principle, a form of integrity, a necessity for achieving the proper end of all ends – man’s life. . . . Next week, you will be tested on the material we covered today, but remember that you are, and will be, tested every day of your life by reality itself. Your reward for passing my test will be a good grade; your reward from reality will be the greatest happiness possible to you. Class dismissed.”

Some Parents from an oppressive religious country and background:
"The parents, Rakeel and Sumi Banesh, were model citizens. Rakeel was Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his wife was the Wife of the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs."

General wit throughout:
"People want him around like they want a black cat named Thirteen"

[Kyle Halmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Rare Treat

I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading Lunch Break. Quent Cordair is one of the few true authors of romantic realism with a bent for Aristotelian, and further, Objectivist philosophy. He also gives his stories a climactic twist reminiscent of O.Henry's works. That is not to diminish the author's signature style, a story by Quent will always remain uniquely his. A rare treat to read in a world of mediocrity.

[Ray Schram · Rating 1 out of 5]

Genuinely cringe worthy writing. I wanted to crawl out of my skin at the childish unreality of scenes, amateurish dialogue, cookie cutter characters and on the nose descriptions. It is an almost perfect parody of romanticism that would be good-bad if it weren’t so embarrassing.

The reason I did not give this one star is for the story “Sheltered”. That was an enjoyable and occasionally funny description of the mental decline of a the-end-is-near lunatic. I wish the author had made done more to describe the specific ideas of the main character instead of just making him an all over fanatic, but still a lot of fun. I imagine the quality of the writing improved because of a greater familiarity with that type of person (as opposed to the international venture capitalists, ex-Muslims and secret agents of the rest of the book), but that’s just speculation.

But that one pleasurable story does not redeem this very bad collection.

[Jeffrey Falk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This late twentieth and twenty-first century romanticism is skillfully crafted soul kindling that is much needed in modern culture. The stories are varied in setting and (to a lesser extent) tone but have a consistent theme, affect, and effect that evokes a longing in the reader for more of humanity "as it could be and should be," in art and in life.

[B.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written - filled with stories so poignant I couldn't read them in a row because they effected me so much. Interspersed between are lovely poems. Definitely a treasured collection.

[João · Rating 4 out of 5]

The short stories "A Prelude to Pleasure" and "The Hunter" were especially good, my favorite short stories ever.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of short stories and poems written by a master of words.