Stories

by Luke Hartwell

Luke Hartwell's three acclaimed short stories, hitherto published individually, appear here in one volume. "Jimmy," "Michael," and "Nothing Strikes Back" showcase Hartwell's ability to create characters then get inside their head and relate their stories in a voice so accurate you will swear the character is writing the story. "Jimmy" has been compared to "Brokeback Mountain" for its sparse prose and simple power. "Michael" has been called one of the funniest pieces to appear in the gay literary canon. "Nothing Strikes Back" is a newer piece dealing with a controversial subject. Together, these stories are a satisfying testament to Hartwell's peculiarly engaging style.

94 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 20, 2013

About the author

Readers can track Luke Hartwell's book releases on the Watersgreen House website. Luke's books are available from Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Gardners, Baker & Taylor, Smashwords, Scribd, Odilo, and OverDrive.

Reviews

[LenaRibka · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Rohit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful stories on the straight-boy-turned-bi trope.

[Bob Dias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short stories. I cant get enough from this author

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought each of the three stories individually as they were published, and I absolutely love all three. I guess this author isn't for everyone, but he's definitely for me. I love everything he's written so far. If you are a fan of his novels and haven't already bought his short stories, buying this collection of all three in one volume is definitely the better deal. I don't regret for one minute spending the money to buy them as they came out, though. The book covers are all works of art. They remind me of The Smiths early album covers, and just like Hartwell's novels, each is wonderful in its own way.

[Miguel Vega · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5. To be entirely honest, the only story that did it for me was "Jimmy". It was so short, sweet and beautiful and I honestly felt happy reading it. However, the other two stories have their respective problems that I could not get over with.

"Michael" was a very sexual story, but very absurd. I had to suspend my belief throughout the whole thing because I was like "Yeah this is totally for plot purposes, it would never happen".

"Nothing Strikes Back" painted the narrator as whiny because he is always being dumped, and he doesn't know why. However, we are lead to blame the girls and suppose they are just bitches who like to go back to bad boys because we are never given fault of whatever his name was. Also, the ending (which was hyped) just ends. Yawn.

[Dennic Von · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of 3 short stories.
Here are my specific ratings for each:
Jimmy: 3 stars
Micheal: 3 stars
Nothing Strikes Back!: 4 stars