The Man Who Built Boxes and other stories

by Frank Tavares

In these twelve stories, you’ll meet a remarkable cast of complex, quirky characters tangled up in the limits they’ve put on their lives. Driven by love or loneliness, like the man in the title, they’ve boxed themselves in. Frank Tavares tells their stories with humor and compassion.

And while the themes may be familiar”"crumbling marriages, feuding neighbors, sparring business partners, and the endless searching for what might have been”"here they become fresh, unpredictable, and surprising. This exciting debut collection from a first-rate storyteller will haunt and fascinate you long after you finish reading. You may never look at a chance pick-up in a bar the same way again.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Amazon, Ebooks

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 13, 2013

Reviews

[Laila · Rating 2 out of 5]

This took a long time, and really was sheer thick-headedness that I didn't just give up. The writing itself isn't bad, but none of the short stories actually carried the punch I am used to in good ones. Some of the later ones manage some cohesion and some idea that they are actually meant as a short story, but they failed to excite me. And what annoyed me more, almost all of them carry that deep feat/hated of women, and reading it as a woman is really really painful.
Women in this book are pretty much either sluts and whores or evil/oppressive to the men they are with. Sometimes both. There was maybe one or two story where a woman was an actual human being and a three-dimensional character the way the men in the stories were. Collected together like this it made me really uncomfortable.

[Jami · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a compilation of short stories that I've had on my kindle for awhile; I believe I purchased this for free, as I had never heard of this author. The stories were well written, but some of them were downright strange! There were a few where I found myself thinking WTF just happened? I definitely can see the frustrations of other reviewers, as the stories do have abrupt endings and leave you asking questions and wanting more. Perhaps that is the intent of the stories? If so, that worked. In any case, I enjoyed the stories enough to keep going and a few of them stayed with me.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I selected this e-book because I used to gobble up short stories, in the 70s and 80s, when I subscribed to two Science Fiction monthly magazines. Thought I'd try a different genre. Maybe I'm just not into the short story any more. These ones were somewhat thought-provoking, and I found a few of them ending unexpectedly, like dropping off a cliff.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like many others reviewing this I only finished because I don't like to let things unfinished. Would not recommend it.

[Mary Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pithy Stories (contains a spoiler)

A light read, good bedtime stories. All have twisted meanings or surprise endings. I think my favorite is towards the end. He's sure his wife is trying to kill him, and she tries, fails, tries, fails again, and so on until he finds himself paying for the gun she just shot at him, then heads to the police station to bail her out. The end.

Quirky & fun.

[Kelley Dawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories that Stick in Your Head

Well written short stories that leave you feeling like you just learned a seemingly average person's deepest secrets. Good book.

[Carina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book on a whim. I saw it in the Kindle library, realized it was a short story collection written by the NPR voice guy, and decided to give it a try.
Overall, I would say there were some hits and some misses. The stories were creative and there was a twist to each one, which I liked. Still, a few of the short stories left me wanting more. The one about the tattooed girl comes to mind; I wanted to know more about how she was going to spend her remaining days. I really liked the idea of the guy talking to his dead friend—the story about what happened in Austin could’ve been its own novel, in my opinion. The she-devil story was entertaining; again, loved the twist at the end. I also thought he was too focused on describing the way people look and men’s ages; he was very precise about the age of his characters, which I thought was unnecessary. The title story, “The Man Who Built Boxes,” was quite good, interesting and metaphorical. On the other hand, the story about the girl in the box was just odd. As a whole, he had some very creative ideas. I’m glad I gave this a try.

[Johnna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was more than pleasantly surprised by this collection of short stories. I am not a huge fan of the short story form, I tend to prefer a long, detailed novel that I can really dig into, rather than short little bites of broken-up scenarios. This was different. Each story was relatively involved, detailed and emotional enough to make me forget I was reading a short story until I realized each was over. There are some really great stories here, a couple that I wasn't as crazy about, but overall this was a solid hit. I also really enjoyed the small sampling of novel included at the end, and was honestly so caught up in the bit included that I didn't realize it was only the beginning of a novel meant to interest me in reading this next book, rather than the last of his short stories. Regardless, I have to say that I was intrigued enough by the bit that I read to search it out, always a good sign. This was definitely a great read, and I look forward to reading more from Frank Tavares.

[Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kind of boring.

I'm not even sure why I got this book. Maybe it was free. The stories are short, thankfully. I can't suggest reading this unless you have nothing else to read.

[Trina Houston-dotson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was like a train wreck, tragic but hard to look away. After I read each of the stories I swore I wasn't reading another one but somehow read the whole book. Several reminded me of The Twilight Zone or something. However, I loved the story about the she-devil. It was fantastic. Some made me sad (the guy who built boxes). Some made me wanna slap somebody (the dude who's wife kept trying to kill him), some made me shrug my shoulders and what the..what? (the girl in the box), but, all in all, I finished the book, and that's saying alot.

[MsFolio * · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some powerful stories in this collection. Frank Tavares writes well as he delves into human relationships and finds despair, longing and loss. Tavares ranges from the ordinary to the fantastical as he works his way through the lives of his protagonists. Sometimes he is forgiving of what he finds and at other times, he is harsh - but always interesting.
I almost put the book down after the first stoy, which i think was the weakest, but hope drove me to continue reading and I'm glad I did.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of short fiction.

I enjoyed this collection of short stories that took a look at relationships in our lives--often with lovers and sometimes with members of our families. Sometimes Tavares takes a conventional literary approach. Other times, it's more fantastic, such as in the title story or the story, "Max Ryland Meets the Devil." However he approaches it, I thought the stories well written and I cared about the characters, even the ones I didn't especially like.

[Katya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Instead of wrapping things up by the end, many of these stories were more like first chapters ripped out of full-length books. The writing was good, things start to heat up... but then nothing comes together and you think "what? what was the point of that?!". The stories towards the back of the book have more cohesion, at least. Give those a shot if the first half doesn't do it for you.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing wasn't terrible, but not good either. The stories didn't feel completely fleshed out. Nome of them were particularly memorable. All of them seem to suggest that women are terrible people. It felt like it took me forever to read this because I had no desire to pick it back up. Also, I'm pretty sure this guy has some issues with women.

[Eileen Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting

many different strange, weird short stories that make you think...what is the author trying to portray? reminded me of the twilight zone. I didn't really enjoy the stories in the book but I am sure that if you are one who enjoys the twilight zone you will enjoy these stories.

[Silver_Neurotic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mostly enjoyed these short stories, though I found the whole collection to be somewhat unremarkable. It's been less than a week (I think) since I finished this collection, not a long amount of time at all, but out of the twelve stories there is only two stories I can recall with any kind of confidence. Not bad for a freebie, but I would not recommend it for anyone serious about short stories.

[Sari Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was really intriguing. Only after reading the book, did I learn that Frank Tavares was the voice on NPR who announced the funding credits. But man this guy was wasted. The stories might be a bit "old" in style -- think Red Sirling - but incisvely written, ingenious and sometimes a bit disquieting. I recomment it.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author quickly moved into the story with ease, compelling me to read on. Some quirky, but believable characters and the plots held up. The endings sometimes fell flat leaving me wanting more of a resolution or ending.

[Liz Wood]

Piddly little stories

no real beginnings, endings are non-existent, and minimal plots. didn't finish book as I was bored to tears. would not want to read anything else by this author.

[Judy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kept hoping for a better story in this collection of short stories. Most of the stories were what I would think the pulp fiction genera would read like. Max rylant meets the devil had an interesting end. Doin the laundry had an interesting end twist.

[Brian White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this collection of short stories to portray an interesting slice of life. The stories were earthy and well written. I wouldn't put them in the category of timeless literature but they were compelling. The title story was worth the price of the book.

[Marilyn Dahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this 4 stars because I couldn't give a 3.5 rating. Although the writing was excellent, some stories ended far too abruptly for my taste. In fact I kept checking to see if I missed a page. I usually enjoy a selection of short stories but this book left me a little disappointed.

[Cindra · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Very gritty type short stories.

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got to story three and "f&*k" was every other word. Not for me...

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book that I think would be best if shared with others in a discussion group. Some of these short stories will definitely stay with me for quite some time as I reflect on them.

[Jeanne Boudreau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't generally read short stories but these were quite interesting. I would read more of his works.

[Debbie Henderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ebook

[Sue M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book..Wished stories and book was longer...Twists to some stories

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a quick read. All of the stories are good, well-written and vaguely depressing. A humorous story or two in the mix would have been nice for balance, but probably not what was wanted.

[Patricia Eichenlaub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writer. Gritty stories.