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Mr. Tall: A Novella and Stories
The highly anticipated return of Tony Earley, celebrated author of Jim the Boy
Two decades after his debut collection Here We Are in Paradise heralded Tony Earley as one of the most accomplished writers of his generation, the rueful, bittersweet, and riotous stories of Mr. Tall reestablish him as a mythmaker and tale spinner of the first rank. These stories introduce us not only to ordinary people seeking to live extraordinary lives, but to the skunk ape (a southern variant of Bigfoot), the ghost of Jesse James, and a bone-tired Jack the Giant Killer. Whether it's Appalachia, Nashville, the Carolina Coast, or a make-believe land of talking dogs, each world Earley creates is indelible.
Two decades after his debut collection Here We Are in Paradise heralded Tony Earley as one of the most accomplished writers of his generation, the rueful, bittersweet, and riotous stories of Mr. Tall reestablish him as a mythmaker and tale spinner of the first rank. These stories introduce us not only to ordinary people seeking to live extraordinary lives, but to the skunk ape (a southern variant of Bigfoot), the ghost of Jesse James, and a bone-tired Jack the Giant Killer. Whether it's Appalachia, Nashville, the Carolina Coast, or a make-believe land of talking dogs, each world Earley creates is indelible.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
15 people are currently reading
652 people want to read
About the author
Tony Earley
27 books93 followersTony Earley (born 1961) is an American novelist and short story writer. He was born in San Antonio, Texas, but grew up in North Carolina. His stories are often set in North Carolina.
Earley studied English at Warren Wilson College and after graduation in 1983, he spent four years as a reporter in North Carolina, first as a general assignment reporter for The Thermal Belt News Journal in Columbus, and then as sports editor and feature writer at The Daily Courier in Forest City. Later he attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he received an MFA in creative writing. He quickly found success writing short stories, first with smaller literary magazines, then with Harper's, which published two of his stories: "Charlotte" in 1992 and "The Prophet From Jupiter" in 1993. The latter story helped Harper's win a National Magazine Award for fiction in 1994.
In 1996, Earley's short stories earned him a place on Granta's list of the "20 Best Young American Novelists", and shortly after that announcement, The New Yorker featured him in an issue that focused on the best new novelists in America. He has twice been included in the annual Best American Short Stories anthology. His writing style has been compared by critics to writers as distant as a young Ernest Hemingway and E. B. White. One of his favorite writers is Willa Cather.
Earley studied English at Warren Wilson College and after graduation in 1983, he spent four years as a reporter in North Carolina, first as a general assignment reporter for The Thermal Belt News Journal in Columbus, and then as sports editor and feature writer at The Daily Courier in Forest City. Later he attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he received an MFA in creative writing. He quickly found success writing short stories, first with smaller literary magazines, then with Harper's, which published two of his stories: "Charlotte" in 1992 and "The Prophet From Jupiter" in 1993. The latter story helped Harper's win a National Magazine Award for fiction in 1994.
In 1996, Earley's short stories earned him a place on Granta's list of the "20 Best Young American Novelists", and shortly after that announcement, The New Yorker featured him in an issue that focused on the best new novelists in America. He has twice been included in the annual Best American Short Stories anthology. His writing style has been compared by critics to writers as distant as a young Ernest Hemingway and E. B. White. One of his favorite writers is Willa Cather.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
March 31, 2015
A small collection of decent short stories: I think I'm going basic with this review.
Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands:
A empty nest married couple are returning home after visiting their daughter at college. The husband reminisces on the attraction he felt for his wife and what he feels now.
He caught himself trying to smell her shampoo. He tried not to stare at her breasts, but they possessed dark powers and tracked him around the room wherever he went.
*4 stars*
Mr. Tall:
My favorite of all the stories in this collection. A young couple are married and move to the husband's homestead. Far away from everyone except for their neighbor "Mr. Tall"
She moved around slightly, trying to locate and gauge the condition of Charlie's "thing" without waking it up. (She didn't know what else to call it without cussing. He had not referred to it. She had once heard her father use the word "tallywhacker", but that sounded like a piece of farm machinery that would chop off your fingers if you got too close to it.
*5 stars*
The Cryptozoologist:
Features a bigfoot sighting with a woman remembering her recently passed away artist husband. How she didn't listen to him until after he was gone. (Also pictures the married couple from Mr. Tall)
*4 stars*
Yard Art:
A country music singers ex-wife calls a "singing" plumber out to do a job for her and they end up going on a quest for a piece of folk-art.
*3 stars*
Have you seen the Stolen Girl?:
Mrs. Wilson lives in the house at the address where Jesse James lived in 1875. There is a missing girl in the neighborhood and did Mrs. Wilson see more than she remembers?
She had somehow became the crazy old lady whose tedious stories you had to endure in order to get the disappointing candy that such crazy ladies offered.
*3 stars*
Just Married:
A couple that had been high school sweethearts have became married after being married for a hundred years (51 for him, 49 years for her) to other people.
*3 stars*
Jack and the Mad Dog:
This is the tale of what happened with "Jack" from that famous tale. This one I just didn't like enough to even finish it.
*1 star*
Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands:
A empty nest married couple are returning home after visiting their daughter at college. The husband reminisces on the attraction he felt for his wife and what he feels now.
He caught himself trying to smell her shampoo. He tried not to stare at her breasts, but they possessed dark powers and tracked him around the room wherever he went.
*4 stars*
Mr. Tall:
My favorite of all the stories in this collection. A young couple are married and move to the husband's homestead. Far away from everyone except for their neighbor "Mr. Tall"
She moved around slightly, trying to locate and gauge the condition of Charlie's "thing" without waking it up. (She didn't know what else to call it without cussing. He had not referred to it. She had once heard her father use the word "tallywhacker", but that sounded like a piece of farm machinery that would chop off your fingers if you got too close to it.
*5 stars*
The Cryptozoologist:
Features a bigfoot sighting with a woman remembering her recently passed away artist husband. How she didn't listen to him until after he was gone. (Also pictures the married couple from Mr. Tall)
*4 stars*
Yard Art:
A country music singers ex-wife calls a "singing" plumber out to do a job for her and they end up going on a quest for a piece of folk-art.
*3 stars*
Have you seen the Stolen Girl?:
Mrs. Wilson lives in the house at the address where Jesse James lived in 1875. There is a missing girl in the neighborhood and did Mrs. Wilson see more than she remembers?
She had somehow became the crazy old lady whose tedious stories you had to endure in order to get the disappointing candy that such crazy ladies offered.
*3 stars*
Just Married:
A couple that had been high school sweethearts have became married after being married for a hundred years (51 for him, 49 years for her) to other people.
*3 stars*
Jack and the Mad Dog:
This is the tale of what happened with "Jack" from that famous tale. This one I just didn't like enough to even finish it.
*1 star*
July 16, 2015
I'm not completely sure of Tony Earley's marital status, but from his writing, it's fairly obvious that he's been there and done that. The majority of the stories in this collection involve people in various stages of marriage, from the early, just-getting-to-know-each-other phase, to the bitter aftermath of love gone wrong, to the sad and lonely days of recent widowhood.
In the title story, we meet a very young Plutina, who has just wed a man she hardly knows and is leaving her home and family to live with him. She is full of nervous anticipation and curiosity about the days ahead, days that will make up the rest of her life. Here she is on the train with her new husband, headed for his farm:
Charlie took off his coat and placed it between them so they could hold hands underneath it. She was too embarrassed to look at him for very long at a time, so she stared out the window at the river and the muddy fields and the houses and barns tucked up against the gray mountains. She thought, with some degree of wonder each time the train passed a farmstead, married people live in that house, and married people live in that house, and married people live in that house. She felt as if she had been granted admission into some benevolent, secret society to which almost everyone belonged but of which hardly anyone ever spoke.
The last story in the book, a novella, really, is something of a fairy tale, or perhaps more accurately, the aftermath of a fairy tale. Here, we meet Jack, THAT Jack, of giant killer fame, whose past comes back to haunt him as he attempts to dodge milkmaids he has despoiled, confronts his own mortality and tries to outwit a talking dog:
"You're done," the dog said. "Once I stand up, it's all over."
"I am not done," Jack said. "For the last time, I am JACK!"
"Which means nothing."
"I'm important to people."
"Not anymore. Not in any substantive way. The day is soon coming when your stories will be told only by faux mountaineers in new overalls to ill-formed tourists at storytelling festivals."
Ouch! You can always count on a talking dog to put you in your place, though if you want to take the word of a beast that licks his own balls, be my guest.
But anyway...back to that secret society known as wedded bliss. Earley writes beautifully about the day-in-day-out joys and difficulties of living long term with another person. I've been marriedforever 23 years, so I know a little bit about it, too. In the first story, Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands, one of his characters offers some of the best advice I've ever heard about keeping a marriage together:
Darryl leaned toward the old woman. "If you don't mind my asking," he said, "how did you two stay together?"
"That's kind of a personal question," she said. "What's the matter? You and your wife not getting along?"
"No, ma'am. Not really."
"Well, since you're so damn curious, let me tell you the secret to a long marriage. If you want to stay together, then don't leave."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Wonderful, wonderful stuff here.
In the title story, we meet a very young Plutina, who has just wed a man she hardly knows and is leaving her home and family to live with him. She is full of nervous anticipation and curiosity about the days ahead, days that will make up the rest of her life. Here she is on the train with her new husband, headed for his farm:
Charlie took off his coat and placed it between them so they could hold hands underneath it. She was too embarrassed to look at him for very long at a time, so she stared out the window at the river and the muddy fields and the houses and barns tucked up against the gray mountains. She thought, with some degree of wonder each time the train passed a farmstead, married people live in that house, and married people live in that house, and married people live in that house. She felt as if she had been granted admission into some benevolent, secret society to which almost everyone belonged but of which hardly anyone ever spoke.
The last story in the book, a novella, really, is something of a fairy tale, or perhaps more accurately, the aftermath of a fairy tale. Here, we meet Jack, THAT Jack, of giant killer fame, whose past comes back to haunt him as he attempts to dodge milkmaids he has despoiled, confronts his own mortality and tries to outwit a talking dog:
"You're done," the dog said. "Once I stand up, it's all over."
"I am not done," Jack said. "For the last time, I am JACK!"
"Which means nothing."
"I'm important to people."
"Not anymore. Not in any substantive way. The day is soon coming when your stories will be told only by faux mountaineers in new overalls to ill-formed tourists at storytelling festivals."
Ouch! You can always count on a talking dog to put you in your place, though if you want to take the word of a beast that licks his own balls, be my guest.
But anyway...back to that secret society known as wedded bliss. Earley writes beautifully about the day-in-day-out joys and difficulties of living long term with another person. I've been married
Darryl leaned toward the old woman. "If you don't mind my asking," he said, "how did you two stay together?"
"That's kind of a personal question," she said. "What's the matter? You and your wife not getting along?"
"No, ma'am. Not really."
"Well, since you're so damn curious, let me tell you the secret to a long marriage. If you want to stay together, then don't leave."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Wonderful, wonderful stuff here.
November 10, 2014
A grouping of stories that I found amazing. In the first story a couple, long married with one child, finds after she goes to college that they are no longer the focus of her life. Empty nest and how do they and their marriage move forward? So realistic as I am sure many of us empty nesters can agree.
In another story a couple of high school sweethearts, separated by the war reconnect 45 yrs. later after the death of both of their spouses. My favorite though was the title story. A young girl of 16 marries and lives in a lonely secluded farm, her nearest neighbor is Mr. Tall a man with a tragedy of his own. We meet this young couple again as old people in another story.
All in all I loved the writing in these fully developed stories. The last story is about Jack the giant killer. Does anyone wonder what happened to Jack after he kills the giant? Well we find out this author's version along with a talking dog. One my favorite book of short stories this year.
In another story a couple of high school sweethearts, separated by the war reconnect 45 yrs. later after the death of both of their spouses. My favorite though was the title story. A young girl of 16 marries and lives in a lonely secluded farm, her nearest neighbor is Mr. Tall a man with a tragedy of his own. We meet this young couple again as old people in another story.
All in all I loved the writing in these fully developed stories. The last story is about Jack the giant killer. Does anyone wonder what happened to Jack after he kills the giant? Well we find out this author's version along with a talking dog. One my favorite book of short stories this year.
March 29, 2015
It was impossible not to pick up this book at the library - a collection of short stories entitled Mr. Tall. Having some fun here before you even crack open the book; however, the stories are a mite darker than this would imply. I would have liked it if they had been torqued even more, but that's just a matter of personal preference.
The writing was excellent, there are points made about marriage that are powerful. Mr. Tall, yep, the short story for which the book is named, came the closest to working for me. It's an unusual collection.
The writing was excellent, there are points made about marriage that are powerful. Mr. Tall, yep, the short story for which the book is named, came the closest to working for me. It's an unusual collection.
February 9, 2025
I loved Tony Earley's novels, so when I stumbled on this short-story collection at a used bookstore, it was an easy purchase. Unfortunately, while these stories are solid, they don't rise to the level of his novels — until the brilliant final story. "Jack and the Mad Dog" finds Jack of bean stalk fame at the end of his travels. In this delightful, playful adventure story, Jack is aware of his reputation as a folk story hero and is wondering if he can live out his days as a regular man or needs to succumb to irrelevance — in the form of a giant, rabid black dog — as people stop telling such stories. According to the copyright page, an excerpt of "Jack" appeared in The New Yorker so maybe that's available online if you can't find this volume.
November 27, 2019
I was hooked from the very first sentence: "In October Darryl and Cheryl drove from Argyle, North Carolina, all the way to Wilmington, nearly eight hours, to surprise their daughter, Misti, who was a freshman at UNCW, on her nineteenth birthday." And therein lies a story of empty-nesters, puzzling through a new configuration of reality, that will ring as true for many readers. (Is it needless to say I live in Wilmington? We're northeastern expats, use the library at UNCW, and often attend cultural events there. It's a small, pretty town...and the sea is minutes away.)
This is an absolutely splendid collection of stories from an author whose writing has been called "the Shaker chairs of American literature." Tony Earley's two novels, Jim the Boy and The Blue Star, are, in my opinion and in the view of many who get paid to review books, American small-town and hill-country bildungsroman masterpieces, filled with ethical dilemmas and the universal challenges of living the kind of life one might reflect on and be pleased to call "good." The writing in Earley's stories is a notch more adventurous, playful, more pointedly amusing, but only a notch, and equally, quietly philosophical. Even the concluding fantasy novella in Mr. Tall, "Jack and the Mad Dog," which tells the the story of "Jack, THAT Jack" long after he had earned the distinction "Giant Killer," is filled will moral considerations as its characters head toward their fantasy time horizons. (It might have been written by Neil Gaiman had that master of story been steeped in idiomatic North Carolina/Tennessee South'ese.)
The title story, the second in the collection, is a gripping tale of a young, Depression-era wife, removed from the village and taken to an isolated mountain valley farm, where the closest neighbor is a mysterious giant of a man, Mr. William Tolliver, whom people on the mountain call Mr. Tall. Earley possesses the gift, unusual among many accomplished male writers, of being able to write compelling, believable women characters. In someone else's hands, his story of a woman left alone for weeks at a time while her husband has the good fortune to be employed on a WPA project miles away might have rolled down predictable rails. Earley is here frequently hilarious, filled with surprises, and brings us to a gratifying, almost inevitable conclusion.
Earley writes dialect beautifully (which is vividly realized, if you go that way, in audiobook format by Atlanta-based actors Kevin Stillwell and Courtney Paterson) for action that revolves, in different time periods of time and sometimes interweaving the lives of characters from different stories, around the fictional Carolina-Blue town of "Argyle, North Carolina" The stories Earley masterfully spins are wistful, sad, reflective, funny - yes, it's awfully hackneyed to invoke "laugh-out-loud," but I did, often, reading into the night - with characters that speak and act and have psychological depth and the capacity for surprise...and very like the complex human beings we are but may not choose to reveal.
I've read everything Earley has put between hard covers, and I wish he were a bit more prolific. But his stories and slender novels all contain masterful storytelling, a refined eye and encyclopedic knowledge of nature and its poetic presentation, and simple, movingly beautiful prose - literary jewels that more readers deserve to discover.
This is an absolutely splendid collection of stories from an author whose writing has been called "the Shaker chairs of American literature." Tony Earley's two novels, Jim the Boy and The Blue Star, are, in my opinion and in the view of many who get paid to review books, American small-town and hill-country bildungsroman masterpieces, filled with ethical dilemmas and the universal challenges of living the kind of life one might reflect on and be pleased to call "good." The writing in Earley's stories is a notch more adventurous, playful, more pointedly amusing, but only a notch, and equally, quietly philosophical. Even the concluding fantasy novella in Mr. Tall, "Jack and the Mad Dog," which tells the the story of "Jack, THAT Jack" long after he had earned the distinction "Giant Killer," is filled will moral considerations as its characters head toward their fantasy time horizons. (It might have been written by Neil Gaiman had that master of story been steeped in idiomatic North Carolina/Tennessee South'ese.)
The title story, the second in the collection, is a gripping tale of a young, Depression-era wife, removed from the village and taken to an isolated mountain valley farm, where the closest neighbor is a mysterious giant of a man, Mr. William Tolliver, whom people on the mountain call Mr. Tall. Earley possesses the gift, unusual among many accomplished male writers, of being able to write compelling, believable women characters. In someone else's hands, his story of a woman left alone for weeks at a time while her husband has the good fortune to be employed on a WPA project miles away might have rolled down predictable rails. Earley is here frequently hilarious, filled with surprises, and brings us to a gratifying, almost inevitable conclusion.
Earley writes dialect beautifully (which is vividly realized, if you go that way, in audiobook format by Atlanta-based actors Kevin Stillwell and Courtney Paterson) for action that revolves, in different time periods of time and sometimes interweaving the lives of characters from different stories, around the fictional Carolina-Blue town of "Argyle, North Carolina" The stories Earley masterfully spins are wistful, sad, reflective, funny - yes, it's awfully hackneyed to invoke "laugh-out-loud," but I did, often, reading into the night - with characters that speak and act and have psychological depth and the capacity for surprise...and very like the complex human beings we are but may not choose to reveal.
I've read everything Earley has put between hard covers, and I wish he were a bit more prolific. But his stories and slender novels all contain masterful storytelling, a refined eye and encyclopedic knowledge of nature and its poetic presentation, and simple, movingly beautiful prose - literary jewels that more readers deserve to discover.
October 7, 2014
Review of Tony Earley’s Mr. Tall (Hachette 2014)
Tony Earley is an American born writer who grew up in North Carolina where many of his short stories take place, including those in the most recent collection titled Mr. Tall.
In the first story a couple has an unsettling visit with their daughter who is a student at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. Instead of heading directly home the couple take an equally unsettling drive north through the Barrier Islands. The second story begins in 1932 and takes up the life of Plutina Scroggs, a young woman who feels trapped and marries young Charlie Shires to escape the looming drudgery of familial responsibility. The couple move far away and settle on a farm in the most rural of all Appalachian settings. Their neighbor is the mysterious and reclusive Mr. Tall. Most of the stories are set in rural Appalachia and all of the stories explore the fraying edges and worn patches of weathered marriages that have grown comfortable - or not.
The last tale is about Jack - yes, that Jack - Jack the Giant Killer and not so humble knave of many an Appalachian yarn. This most amusing story is a tour de force. It hints at the endangerment of our oral tradition, yet scolds Jack for his chauvinism, his waywardness and his general lack of empathy and curiosity for his fellow travelers. We are reminded along with Jack that we “had only just set down here, into this brilliant world of numbered mornings” and we whisper along with him to some unknown, unseen reader, “For God’s sake, don’t close this book.”
Tony Earley is an American born writer who grew up in North Carolina where many of his short stories take place, including those in the most recent collection titled Mr. Tall.
In the first story a couple has an unsettling visit with their daughter who is a student at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. Instead of heading directly home the couple take an equally unsettling drive north through the Barrier Islands. The second story begins in 1932 and takes up the life of Plutina Scroggs, a young woman who feels trapped and marries young Charlie Shires to escape the looming drudgery of familial responsibility. The couple move far away and settle on a farm in the most rural of all Appalachian settings. Their neighbor is the mysterious and reclusive Mr. Tall. Most of the stories are set in rural Appalachia and all of the stories explore the fraying edges and worn patches of weathered marriages that have grown comfortable - or not.
The last tale is about Jack - yes, that Jack - Jack the Giant Killer and not so humble knave of many an Appalachian yarn. This most amusing story is a tour de force. It hints at the endangerment of our oral tradition, yet scolds Jack for his chauvinism, his waywardness and his general lack of empathy and curiosity for his fellow travelers. We are reminded along with Jack that we “had only just set down here, into this brilliant world of numbered mornings” and we whisper along with him to some unknown, unseen reader, “For God’s sake, don’t close this book.”
December 1, 2021
Not one I would’ve normally picked up but I enjoyed it. It’s almost entirely short stories about married couples (the first one was by far my favorite), and then one tall tale featuring Jack of Appalachian folklore that’s very American Gods-ish. Sort of uneven overall but with some memorable moments. Maybe I should revisit after being married for several decades.
November 27, 2019
I would definitely recommend this collection to any one of my friends. I feel like it has a little bit of everything in it and could please anyone who picked it up and turned even a few pages. I had the privilege to meet Tony Earley and listen to him read an excerpt from another one of his stories. After hearing it, I immediately jumped on Amazon and order this book for myself. I blazed through the entire book in less than 12 hours and enjoyed every moment of it.
Because it was a collection of short stories, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I first opened the book, but by the time I closed it, I almost turned to the first page to read it all over again. The last words of the story had a large impact on me, mostly because of what they were. I had always wanted a story to end with something like that and until last night, I hadn't read one that did that.
I loved each and every one of the characters. It didn't feel like I was being introduced to them when I first read their names. It felt more like meeting an old friend again after many years. You know that they've changed but they still feel very familiar to you. None of them ever felt like a stranger. From the very first page to the very last, each character was somehow intertwined into the lives of the others. Sometimes you didn't even realize it until you came to the end of the story. Each character was a puzzle piece that was already connected, all you had to do was look at it.
Because it was a collection of short stories, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I first opened the book, but by the time I closed it, I almost turned to the first page to read it all over again. The last words of the story had a large impact on me, mostly because of what they were. I had always wanted a story to end with something like that and until last night, I hadn't read one that did that.
I loved each and every one of the characters. It didn't feel like I was being introduced to them when I first read their names. It felt more like meeting an old friend again after many years. You know that they've changed but they still feel very familiar to you. None of them ever felt like a stranger. From the very first page to the very last, each character was somehow intertwined into the lives of the others. Sometimes you didn't even realize it until you came to the end of the story. Each character was a puzzle piece that was already connected, all you had to do was look at it.
February 26, 2015
I always find it hard to rate a collection of short stories - should I go with the overall impression, or the average of each individual? This time, I'm trying out the latter. You can see my breakdown below. I loved most of it - I loved the reality of the stories and how relatable all the characters were; I loved how some of the stories connected to each other across time; I loved his style of writing. But then there was the last story that was so difference from the others, most of the time I hadn't a clue what was going on, and it was just so existential! And weird.
"Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands" - 5 stars
"Mr. Tall" - 5 stars
"The Crytozoologist" - 4 stars
"Yard Art" - 5 stars
"Have You Seen the Stolen Girl?" - 4 stars
"Just Married" - 5 stars
"Jack and the Mad Dog" - 1 star
"Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands" - 5 stars
"Mr. Tall" - 5 stars
"The Crytozoologist" - 4 stars
"Yard Art" - 5 stars
"Have You Seen the Stolen Girl?" - 4 stars
"Just Married" - 5 stars
"Jack and the Mad Dog" - 1 star
October 16, 2014
This is Earley's second story collection, after his debut, Here We Are in Paradise. I did not read that one but I have read his novel, Jim the Boy, which was excellent.
This is more of a mixed bag. There are seven stories. I liked, Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands, which kicks off the collection and I also liked the title story. The novella-sized neo-fairytale, which concludes, this book, didn't quite work for me, although I did admire it's creativity and boldness. I may have to revisit these stories at some point and see if I missed something.
This is more of a mixed bag. There are seven stories. I liked, Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands, which kicks off the collection and I also liked the title story. The novella-sized neo-fairytale, which concludes, this book, didn't quite work for me, although I did admire it's creativity and boldness. I may have to revisit these stories at some point and see if I missed something.
October 8, 2020
A nice collection of stories and I was surprised by the details and character development in stories that were so short. I enjoyed all of them but I especially liked "Mr. Tall". I had an idea of where it was going but it still surprised me when it happened and I love the interaction of the characters. The "Stolen Girl" surprised me and I was expecting something else. I have never read anything by Mr. Earley before and this was a good introduction to his style.
March 3, 2017
This is a collection of short stories, some that I liked a lot and some and couldn't care less for. I think the latter was because I am not particularly interested the daily life in the rural areas of the United States and several of the stories were pretty much about that.
August 26, 2014
**Check out my full review here or on Amazon**
Mr. Tall is a collection of stories, about different characters, in different worlds, and in different situations. Characters are introduced, but they do not always appear in the other stories or seem to have a connection with any of the other stories in this collection. For this reason, I find it difficult to review a novel like this.
(Note: There are adult situations in this novel, and this is likely not a Young Adult or Teen read.)
Overall, there were several stories that I loved and other stories that I did not like. I feel the best way to explain this is by separating the review into the different stories. I also want to note, I do not want to say too much about the synopsis of each story, because of the length of them, I am afraid that I would spoil the story!
Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands
This story follows Darryl, Cheryl and their daughter Misti. The story mainly focuses on Darryl and Cheryl's trip to visit their daughter at University. Throughout the story, the reader also sees the couple's past, and what might have lead to their relationship struggles.
This was one of the stories that I liked to read, but I did not love. The structure of the sentences was a little bit hard to follow. Here is an example of what the sentences look like. (These sentences might not be the same in the finished copy - I will update them if they are not similar)
"Cheryl had a baby. She picked the name Misti Renee and stuffed the baby into a sling and went back to work."
In some of the circumstances in this story, this structure of writing was appropriate. In other points of the story, I did not like how the sentences were put together. In these sections, the sentences were either too short (the first sentence of the quote above) or plain confusing.
Also, I felt like I did not connect with the characters in this story as much as I wanted to. I know that the story focused on Darryl and Cheryl, but I just did not feel like I connected with Cheryl. I realize that some of this lack of connection is intentional, as the story focuses on Darryl and his thoughts, but I wanted more of a connection with her.
Also, I would like to mention that there is a part in this story that is a little inappropriate. I skipped over this part of the story, but I still understood the majority of the story.
Mr. Tall
This is one of the stories that I read and loved.
This story follows Plutina and Charlie, a newly wed couple that are moving to "the middle of no-where". Plutina has several doubts about their marriage, most of them being that her father, nor her sister approve of the marriage. Plutina also feels bad about her marriage because her mother needs around the clock care, and she worries that without her presence, her mother will not get the care that she needs. But then, Plutina learns about her mysterious neighbor, Mr. Tall, and will do just about anything to get to know him.
I really liked this story because the reader is able to experience the perspective of Plutina. I felt like I could really understand Plutina's thoughts and reasoning. Mr. Earley does a great job of convincing the reader to support Plutina's side of the story.
I also really loved the character of Mr. Tall. Even though this story is very short, there is a lot of depth and substance to the Mr. Tall character. I felt like I really wanted to get to know Mr. Tall, even after all of the crazy rumors that are stated in the story. Mr. Tall is a character that has so much to him, and the fact that the reader only has a short amount of time to acknowledge this makes his character that much deeper.
I also want to make a note that this story also has a huge inappropriate part. I skipped over about four pages. My review will obviously not cover these pages.
The Cryptozoologist
This story follows Rose, sadly, a widow who had just lost her husband, Fieldin. Rose's neighbors, Charlie and Plutina, help her to overcome her grief by keeping her busy and giving her faces to talk to. Thanks to her neighbors, Rose is able to discover more about herself, and her husbands intention.
I enjoyed this story, one of the reasons mainly being that Mr. Earley was able to connect the two characters from the previous story into this one. I really enjoyed being able to see two different stories, and how the intentions of both Plutina and Rose matched, and how they were each unique.
Another reason that I liked this story is because the reader is able to see a new side to Charlie, a character from the previous story. The character is able to see things in Charlie that Plutina did not describe, and this story also validates that Charlie was a good man at heart with good intentions.
I was able to connect deeper with the characters in the previous story, as well as this one. I really felt like the blending of the previous story helped me to appreciate both stories, and the characters within them.
Yard Art
This story follows Cammie, a recently divorced woman who hires a plumber named Arlen Jones. She hopes that hiring and talking to this plumber will help her get past her recent divorce. She tells Arlen about a sculpture that is "the reason why she does not have any furniture", and how the sculptor himself has works so rare that they are hard to come by. Arlen knows where another one of these sculptures is, and this sets the two off on an adventure.
I liked this story, but I also had some parts of this story that I did not like.
I thought that the character of Cammie was a little bit too romance obsessed. I understand that she had just been divorced from her song-writer husband, and I know that divorce has a toll on several people. I just felt like I did not understand her motives of inviting over the plumbers and the rationality that they may actually become romantically involved.
I was very happy to see this mood change when Cammie figured out that Arlen may know where one of the undiscovered works of William Edmondson (the sculptor) may be. Cammie suddenly was more focused on the whereabouts of this sculpture, and even asked that Arlen stop calling her " Darlin' ". I thought that was a huge step for Cammie and also helped to make the story more interesting.
I also loved that I was able to see more of Arlen than I was expecting to. Most of the stories in this novel had a very strong focus on one character in the story. While the story focused in Cammie, the small lines that Arlen had spoken gave me a huge insight into the kind of character that he is. He is just a person that does not want to hurt anyone, but also wants to protect the people that he loves. Arlen is exactly the kind of character that I wish I saw more of today.
Have You Seen the Stolen Girl?
This is another one of the stories that I read and loved instantly.
This story follows Mrs. Wilson, a woman who loves to tell the story of Jesse James to her trick-or-treaters every Halloween, but also a woman who lives just yards away from where a teenage girl had gone missing months ago. Mrs. Wilson relives that day constantly, but she does not remember seeing anything suspicious in the neighborhood. But she wants answers, and she will do anything to get them.
I really enjoyed this story. I thought it was very interesting to be able to see into Mrs. Wilson, and her almost obsessive thoughts about the events that took place years ago. Throughout the story, the reader sees that Mrs. Wilson is paranoid that she did see something suspicious happen that day, or that she saw her on her doorstep trick-or-treating around Halloween. Most of all, the reader sees that Mrs. Wilson really just wishes the safe return of who she calls the "Stolen Girl".
The story also revisits some of her own pasts and struggles, which may have contributed to her paranoia but also what would be extreme protection of her and any children in the future that walk around the block. I thought it was very interesting to see the memories that Mrs. Wilson holds near to her, and how that contributes to her character. Most of her memories (that she still has) are doing more damage than good.
I also loved to see the "delusion" that happens near the end of the story, and how good intentions can be interpreted negatively. The past comes back to haunt Mrs. Wilson, and the turn of events is not what she expects. I won't say any more than that - you will have to read this story to figure it out.
Just Married
This story was very interesting.
The story follows several married couples, each experiencing their own troubles. I both liked and disliked the story. I loved the fact that even in two or three pages, I could get a sense of each of the character's personalities and motivations. I did not want this story to end!
Also, the diversity in the characters and the unique parts that were present in each of them were amazing. It was also great to see the difference in motivation between these characters, and also the lack of understanding between them and other characters in the story. I specifically felt this way about the first "mini" story and the second "mini" story. I found the characters to be in them were just amazing.
The one thing that I did not like about this story is that several parts of the story were confusing. I specifically felt this way about the last "mini" story, Honeymoon. I just did not understand what was going on, or who was saying what. I didn't like not being able to have closure with this part of the story.
Jack and the Mad Dog
This story was probably the most confusing, but I enjoyed this.
This story follows a man named Jack, an arrogant, almost selfish man who is being hunted by a black dog. The dog speaks, and he wants to bite Jack to kill him. But, Jack doesn't want to end his story, as he is fortunate to be in one in the first place. For Jack to survive, he has to revisit his past and his fears, in one of the strangest way possible. But Jack does not get the news that he wanted.
Once again, this story was probably the most confusing, and that was the downfall of the story. This story is also the longest story within the collection, and it did not help that I was confused about what was going on. I realize that part of this confusion was meant to be there, but I also realized that some of the confusion did not need to be there, or most of the concepts needed to be explained in a better manner.
Even after this, I felt my love for the story grow as the story went on. The different characters introduced all had some kind of a connection to Jack's past in his stories, and each of these characters were trying to lead him to the same place. I did like the fact that I could see this connection between the characters and Jack.
The last ten pages or so of the story were the most entertaining pieces to read. After reading those sections, I never wanted the story to end. I also thought that this section of the story was the section that reveals the most about Jack's character and true colors.
For the ending, I will not say much, except for that it is probably one of the greatest endings that I have read in these stories. My jaw dropped, and suddenly, certain events and objects in the story began to make sense. I never wanted to put the book down!
Overall, I really enjoyed these stories. Mr. Earley has a very unique voice and a very special talent when it comes to creating characters. Mr. Earley has a special way of bringing events and characters together. His stories make the readers think. In my opinion, those are the best kinds of stories.
Rating: 3.5-4 stars out of 5
I received a copy of this novel through the Goodreads First Reads program.
Mr. Tall is a collection of stories, about different characters, in different worlds, and in different situations. Characters are introduced, but they do not always appear in the other stories or seem to have a connection with any of the other stories in this collection. For this reason, I find it difficult to review a novel like this.
(Note: There are adult situations in this novel, and this is likely not a Young Adult or Teen read.)
Overall, there were several stories that I loved and other stories that I did not like. I feel the best way to explain this is by separating the review into the different stories. I also want to note, I do not want to say too much about the synopsis of each story, because of the length of them, I am afraid that I would spoil the story!
Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands
This story follows Darryl, Cheryl and their daughter Misti. The story mainly focuses on Darryl and Cheryl's trip to visit their daughter at University. Throughout the story, the reader also sees the couple's past, and what might have lead to their relationship struggles.
This was one of the stories that I liked to read, but I did not love. The structure of the sentences was a little bit hard to follow. Here is an example of what the sentences look like. (These sentences might not be the same in the finished copy - I will update them if they are not similar)
"Cheryl had a baby. She picked the name Misti Renee and stuffed the baby into a sling and went back to work."
In some of the circumstances in this story, this structure of writing was appropriate. In other points of the story, I did not like how the sentences were put together. In these sections, the sentences were either too short (the first sentence of the quote above) or plain confusing.
Also, I felt like I did not connect with the characters in this story as much as I wanted to. I know that the story focused on Darryl and Cheryl, but I just did not feel like I connected with Cheryl. I realize that some of this lack of connection is intentional, as the story focuses on Darryl and his thoughts, but I wanted more of a connection with her.
Also, I would like to mention that there is a part in this story that is a little inappropriate. I skipped over this part of the story, but I still understood the majority of the story.
Mr. Tall
This is one of the stories that I read and loved.
This story follows Plutina and Charlie, a newly wed couple that are moving to "the middle of no-where". Plutina has several doubts about their marriage, most of them being that her father, nor her sister approve of the marriage. Plutina also feels bad about her marriage because her mother needs around the clock care, and she worries that without her presence, her mother will not get the care that she needs. But then, Plutina learns about her mysterious neighbor, Mr. Tall, and will do just about anything to get to know him.
I really liked this story because the reader is able to experience the perspective of Plutina. I felt like I could really understand Plutina's thoughts and reasoning. Mr. Earley does a great job of convincing the reader to support Plutina's side of the story.
I also really loved the character of Mr. Tall. Even though this story is very short, there is a lot of depth and substance to the Mr. Tall character. I felt like I really wanted to get to know Mr. Tall, even after all of the crazy rumors that are stated in the story. Mr. Tall is a character that has so much to him, and the fact that the reader only has a short amount of time to acknowledge this makes his character that much deeper.
I also want to make a note that this story also has a huge inappropriate part. I skipped over about four pages. My review will obviously not cover these pages.
The Cryptozoologist
This story follows Rose, sadly, a widow who had just lost her husband, Fieldin. Rose's neighbors, Charlie and Plutina, help her to overcome her grief by keeping her busy and giving her faces to talk to. Thanks to her neighbors, Rose is able to discover more about herself, and her husbands intention.
I enjoyed this story, one of the reasons mainly being that Mr. Earley was able to connect the two characters from the previous story into this one. I really enjoyed being able to see two different stories, and how the intentions of both Plutina and Rose matched, and how they were each unique.
Another reason that I liked this story is because the reader is able to see a new side to Charlie, a character from the previous story. The character is able to see things in Charlie that Plutina did not describe, and this story also validates that Charlie was a good man at heart with good intentions.
I was able to connect deeper with the characters in the previous story, as well as this one. I really felt like the blending of the previous story helped me to appreciate both stories, and the characters within them.
Yard Art
This story follows Cammie, a recently divorced woman who hires a plumber named Arlen Jones. She hopes that hiring and talking to this plumber will help her get past her recent divorce. She tells Arlen about a sculpture that is "the reason why she does not have any furniture", and how the sculptor himself has works so rare that they are hard to come by. Arlen knows where another one of these sculptures is, and this sets the two off on an adventure.
I liked this story, but I also had some parts of this story that I did not like.
I thought that the character of Cammie was a little bit too romance obsessed. I understand that she had just been divorced from her song-writer husband, and I know that divorce has a toll on several people. I just felt like I did not understand her motives of inviting over the plumbers and the rationality that they may actually become romantically involved.
I was very happy to see this mood change when Cammie figured out that Arlen may know where one of the undiscovered works of William Edmondson (the sculptor) may be. Cammie suddenly was more focused on the whereabouts of this sculpture, and even asked that Arlen stop calling her " Darlin' ". I thought that was a huge step for Cammie and also helped to make the story more interesting.
I also loved that I was able to see more of Arlen than I was expecting to. Most of the stories in this novel had a very strong focus on one character in the story. While the story focused in Cammie, the small lines that Arlen had spoken gave me a huge insight into the kind of character that he is. He is just a person that does not want to hurt anyone, but also wants to protect the people that he loves. Arlen is exactly the kind of character that I wish I saw more of today.
Have You Seen the Stolen Girl?
This is another one of the stories that I read and loved instantly.
This story follows Mrs. Wilson, a woman who loves to tell the story of Jesse James to her trick-or-treaters every Halloween, but also a woman who lives just yards away from where a teenage girl had gone missing months ago. Mrs. Wilson relives that day constantly, but she does not remember seeing anything suspicious in the neighborhood. But she wants answers, and she will do anything to get them.
I really enjoyed this story. I thought it was very interesting to be able to see into Mrs. Wilson, and her almost obsessive thoughts about the events that took place years ago. Throughout the story, the reader sees that Mrs. Wilson is paranoid that she did see something suspicious happen that day, or that she saw her on her doorstep trick-or-treating around Halloween. Most of all, the reader sees that Mrs. Wilson really just wishes the safe return of who she calls the "Stolen Girl".
The story also revisits some of her own pasts and struggles, which may have contributed to her paranoia but also what would be extreme protection of her and any children in the future that walk around the block. I thought it was very interesting to see the memories that Mrs. Wilson holds near to her, and how that contributes to her character. Most of her memories (that she still has) are doing more damage than good.
I also loved to see the "delusion" that happens near the end of the story, and how good intentions can be interpreted negatively. The past comes back to haunt Mrs. Wilson, and the turn of events is not what she expects. I won't say any more than that - you will have to read this story to figure it out.
Just Married
This story was very interesting.
The story follows several married couples, each experiencing their own troubles. I both liked and disliked the story. I loved the fact that even in two or three pages, I could get a sense of each of the character's personalities and motivations. I did not want this story to end!
Also, the diversity in the characters and the unique parts that were present in each of them were amazing. It was also great to see the difference in motivation between these characters, and also the lack of understanding between them and other characters in the story. I specifically felt this way about the first "mini" story and the second "mini" story. I found the characters to be in them were just amazing.
The one thing that I did not like about this story is that several parts of the story were confusing. I specifically felt this way about the last "mini" story, Honeymoon. I just did not understand what was going on, or who was saying what. I didn't like not being able to have closure with this part of the story.
Jack and the Mad Dog
This story was probably the most confusing, but I enjoyed this.
This story follows a man named Jack, an arrogant, almost selfish man who is being hunted by a black dog. The dog speaks, and he wants to bite Jack to kill him. But, Jack doesn't want to end his story, as he is fortunate to be in one in the first place. For Jack to survive, he has to revisit his past and his fears, in one of the strangest way possible. But Jack does not get the news that he wanted.
Once again, this story was probably the most confusing, and that was the downfall of the story. This story is also the longest story within the collection, and it did not help that I was confused about what was going on. I realize that part of this confusion was meant to be there, but I also realized that some of the confusion did not need to be there, or most of the concepts needed to be explained in a better manner.
Even after this, I felt my love for the story grow as the story went on. The different characters introduced all had some kind of a connection to Jack's past in his stories, and each of these characters were trying to lead him to the same place. I did like the fact that I could see this connection between the characters and Jack.
The last ten pages or so of the story were the most entertaining pieces to read. After reading those sections, I never wanted the story to end. I also thought that this section of the story was the section that reveals the most about Jack's character and true colors.
For the ending, I will not say much, except for that it is probably one of the greatest endings that I have read in these stories. My jaw dropped, and suddenly, certain events and objects in the story began to make sense. I never wanted to put the book down!
Overall, I really enjoyed these stories. Mr. Earley has a very unique voice and a very special talent when it comes to creating characters. Mr. Earley has a special way of bringing events and characters together. His stories make the readers think. In my opinion, those are the best kinds of stories.
Rating: 3.5-4 stars out of 5
I received a copy of this novel through the Goodreads First Reads program.
March 3, 2018
Earley has a way of adding an extra dimension to reality. It’s a dimension that heads the story in a direction that is just bizarre enough — the story stays tethered to reality, but it has a quirk that branches away. That extra dimension allows the story to teach us more than reality alone could do.
All seven stories in the book have at their core a genuine, sometimes even iconic human situation. The very first story is a coming of age story for a couple (Darryl and Cheryl), seeing their daughter off to college and her own life, leaving them to fend for themselves with the starkness of a one on one relationship, no longer mediated by their daughter.
Mr. Tall, the title story, moves a little farther from the realism of that first story, with a semi-mythical neighbor, a bit more thought-about than real. And by the time we reach the final story — Jack and the Mad Dog — we’re following the Jack of the Appalachian Jack Tales down the rabbit hole farther from literal reality. The world of Jack’s Tales is dissolving all around him as pop culture makes him and his tales less and less relevant.
All seven stories are “regional”, set in southern hills that are secluded enough that even the landscapes seem just a bit beyond reality. Maybe I’m a little over-influenced by the final story, the Jack Tale, but where the book left me was with the feel of having experienced stories with morals, like folks tales themselves — just fantastic enough to allow you to draw out something to think about in your own life.
All seven stories in the book have at their core a genuine, sometimes even iconic human situation. The very first story is a coming of age story for a couple (Darryl and Cheryl), seeing their daughter off to college and her own life, leaving them to fend for themselves with the starkness of a one on one relationship, no longer mediated by their daughter.
Mr. Tall, the title story, moves a little farther from the realism of that first story, with a semi-mythical neighbor, a bit more thought-about than real. And by the time we reach the final story — Jack and the Mad Dog — we’re following the Jack of the Appalachian Jack Tales down the rabbit hole farther from literal reality. The world of Jack’s Tales is dissolving all around him as pop culture makes him and his tales less and less relevant.
All seven stories are “regional”, set in southern hills that are secluded enough that even the landscapes seem just a bit beyond reality. Maybe I’m a little over-influenced by the final story, the Jack Tale, but where the book left me was with the feel of having experienced stories with morals, like folks tales themselves — just fantastic enough to allow you to draw out something to think about in your own life.
January 30, 2019
I'm squarely in the middle on this read. I have a few notes on each story but basically it was fine while I was reading it and it was fine when it was over. That probably sounds more negative than I mean it to but it's ok to have a read be solid through and through; there may not have been a "wow" story for me but there also wasn't a "clunker" which is unusual and a pleasant surprise for a book of short stories, especially ones that are so varied like in this collection.
"Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands": Good, descriptive writing but not the best storyline. I didn't care that the time with the characters was over.
"Mr. Tall": I felt the emotions with this one. It had a resolution ending but also felt too short which is the mark of a good short story for me. I laughed out loud at her description of adjusting to sex with her husband, "He had insisted on prodding her with it the whole time it was "Interested," and not just in the place she had expected him to prod her with it, but wherever it happened to be aimed."
"The Cryptozoologist": It took me a minute to make the connection between this story and "Mr. Tall". That helped my interest a little but my mind kept wandering during this story until the last few paragraphs - what an ending.
"Have You Seen the Stolen Girl?": Short but good.
"Yard Art": This one was probably my favorite.
"Just Married": Really nice flow, shows the randomness of intersecting lives.
"Jack and the Mad Dog": The story was fine but after all the previous stories were pretty firmly set in realism it was odd to have this one be so fantastical and it took me a minute to get settled in. It took a twist I wasn't expecting - really good ending.
Find all my reviews at: https://readingatrandom.blogspot.com
"Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands": Good, descriptive writing but not the best storyline. I didn't care that the time with the characters was over.
"Mr. Tall": I felt the emotions with this one. It had a resolution ending but also felt too short which is the mark of a good short story for me. I laughed out loud at her description of adjusting to sex with her husband, "He had insisted on prodding her with it the whole time it was "Interested," and not just in the place she had expected him to prod her with it, but wherever it happened to be aimed."
"The Cryptozoologist": It took me a minute to make the connection between this story and "Mr. Tall". That helped my interest a little but my mind kept wandering during this story until the last few paragraphs - what an ending.
"Have You Seen the Stolen Girl?": Short but good.
"Yard Art": This one was probably my favorite.
"Just Married": Really nice flow, shows the randomness of intersecting lives.
"Jack and the Mad Dog": The story was fine but after all the previous stories were pretty firmly set in realism it was odd to have this one be so fantastical and it took me a minute to get settled in. It took a twist I wasn't expecting - really good ending.
Find all my reviews at: https://readingatrandom.blogspot.com
April 26, 2020
Found this slim volume on my bookshelf and decided to check out this book of short stories with one novella. The stories were mostly about marriage; how do people decide to stay in a marriage and what happens with that love over time. There was a general aura of sadness in all of the stories. I guess my favorite was Mr.Tall which was about a lonely married woman who is trying to make a connection with a nearby farmer. The novella is an odd fairytale which is completely different from the rest of the book. It is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk with some references as to writing techniques and questioning whether Jack and the other characters are first, second or omniscient narrators. That story didn't quite work for me.
September 5, 2017
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway way back in 2014 and finally got around to reading it last week. The stories in this book mainly concern partnerships (usually marriages) and the various ways in which they can be formed, kept alive, and dissolved. For the most part, I enjoyed the short stories, but my favorite piece was the novella, "Jack and the Mad Dog." This story was a departure from the theme of the previous six stories -- instead of being grounded in realism, this story is a winding tall tale about a fictional character who knows he is fictional and must navigate life after his stories' popularity.
December 5, 2017
I've read all 5 of Earley's books, and I think he peaked with the first 2. There are a couple good ones in here - the title track and The Cryptozoologist - but much of what worked for me was the familiar scenery in the mountains and coast of NC. I suspect those who live in Nashville would find some of the same. Solid enough, you can skip the novella.
December 11, 2020
Mr. Early is one of the best fiction writers on the planet. His ability to capture the tiniest nuances of ordinary people and everyday life and expand them into world's of emotional import and fully formed life stories is amazing. Sort of a tempest in a teacup experience. I love this guy's writing and these stories linger in the mind long after reading.
February 27, 2025
I love Tony Earley's work, and this book is a gem. The stories are somehow sturdy and totally bizarre at the same time, full of pedestrian adventures where the characters strain to yoke themselves to a sense of normalcy--and often fail. The standout story for me is the novella "Jack and the Mad Dog," a re-imagining of the infamous Jack from folklore and fairy tales.
August 17, 2017
Gave up after the second story. Not a bad book, but there are other 'fish in the sea'
December 8, 2017
Deceptively easy read, filled with cultural references that often bring a chuckle. I'm a sucker for self-referential jokes. ("It must be Tuesday!")
November 13, 2018
Some entertaining short stories set in the hills of the south. Quirky characters, fantasy plots. Enjoyable to read.
December 31, 2018
I enjoyed all of these short stories, except the last one.
May 30, 2019
Some stories were really well written and fun, but as a whole it was only okay.
September 22, 2024
Exceptionally good short stories. I will remember these characters. Warning violence and self harm
June 10, 2025
I have only read a few books of short stories but I found this book well worth the time.
August 30, 2014
Mr. Tall is a collection of seven novellas each with its own interesting story of men and women who show that communication is one of many keys to a successful and lasting friendship whether married or not.
Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands starts with Darryl and Cheryl visiting their daughter Misti at college and meeting her boyfriend Kyle for the first time her father says in response to the t-shirt he is wearing, “Nice asterisks, Slick.” (Darryl had randomly selected “Slick” from a list of diminutions that included “Buddy,” Chief,” and “Sport.”) Kyle blinked and let go of Darryl’s thumb. He either didn’t know what an asterisk was, or couldn’t believe that Misti’s dad had just called him “Slick.”
Cheryl and Darryl departing from the short visit decide to drive along the coast for sightseeing adventures. Darryl has concerns about their marriage relationship and how long it will last since they no longer own and operate the defunct newspaper, Daily Argus that brought them together as a couple.
Mr. Tall begins as Plutina Scroggs and Charlie Shires marry and as a result causes restrained relationships with her family because she her shared role as a caretaker for her mother will fall upon her sister and father.
Charlie begins working at a railroad company and stays Monday through Friday leaving Plutina alone in their cabin. Charlie warns her never to visit the neighbor over the hill because of town gossip about William Tolliver, who is referred to as Mr. Tall and his willingness to shoot anyone who steps foot on his land. Plutina ignores Charlie’s warning and ends up trapped in Mr. Tall’s barn with no way to escape.
The Cryptozoologist is Rose who fell in love at the tender age of eighteen with her forty-three year old college professor Fieldin whom she married but after years of marriage became ill and passed away. The night Fieldin died Rose saw a creature she believed to be Bigfoot and starts her research on the creature hoping it will return for her to snap a photograph.
Yard Art Cammie Carson is in the middle of a divorce from renowned country singer Keith Carson and having a discussion with her plumber Arlen about a William Edmondson sculpture she owns when Arlen states that the woman who babysat him when he was younger had an Edmondson sculpture in her backyard. While Cammie thinks she will be able to acquire an undiscovered work of art she learns a lesson concerning the ‘haves and have-nots’ of the world.
Have You Seen the Stolen Girl? zeroes in on Mrs. Wilson who lives in the house where Jesse James hid while evading the law in 1875 and every Halloween shares the story with the children who come for tricks or treats. Realizing her story is of no consequence at all to this generation of children she stops giving the candy treats and focuses instead on a ‘stolen girl’ that lived on the same block in her neighborhood trying to remember if she ever saw the little girl.
Just Married is comprised of four vignettes about married couples and their situations.
Jack and the Mad Dog is a surprisingly quirky sequel to the nursery rhyme ‘Jack and Jill’ that went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. This sequel is written with an interesting plot twist that is very enjoyable to read.
Mr. Tall: A Novella and Stories is a good collection of short stories surely to pique the interest of relationships genre book lovers alike. Even though the tales are short in length, they do pack a punch in their individual way. I recommend to avid readers who will enjoy this collection of works and tempted to use as a gifting opportunity.
I received this book free from Little, Brown, and Company Publishing through the Net Galley reviewer program in exchange for an unbiased opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines.
Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands starts with Darryl and Cheryl visiting their daughter Misti at college and meeting her boyfriend Kyle for the first time her father says in response to the t-shirt he is wearing, “Nice asterisks, Slick.” (Darryl had randomly selected “Slick” from a list of diminutions that included “Buddy,” Chief,” and “Sport.”) Kyle blinked and let go of Darryl’s thumb. He either didn’t know what an asterisk was, or couldn’t believe that Misti’s dad had just called him “Slick.”
Cheryl and Darryl departing from the short visit decide to drive along the coast for sightseeing adventures. Darryl has concerns about their marriage relationship and how long it will last since they no longer own and operate the defunct newspaper, Daily Argus that brought them together as a couple.
Mr. Tall begins as Plutina Scroggs and Charlie Shires marry and as a result causes restrained relationships with her family because she her shared role as a caretaker for her mother will fall upon her sister and father.
Charlie begins working at a railroad company and stays Monday through Friday leaving Plutina alone in their cabin. Charlie warns her never to visit the neighbor over the hill because of town gossip about William Tolliver, who is referred to as Mr. Tall and his willingness to shoot anyone who steps foot on his land. Plutina ignores Charlie’s warning and ends up trapped in Mr. Tall’s barn with no way to escape.
The Cryptozoologist is Rose who fell in love at the tender age of eighteen with her forty-three year old college professor Fieldin whom she married but after years of marriage became ill and passed away. The night Fieldin died Rose saw a creature she believed to be Bigfoot and starts her research on the creature hoping it will return for her to snap a photograph.
Yard Art Cammie Carson is in the middle of a divorce from renowned country singer Keith Carson and having a discussion with her plumber Arlen about a William Edmondson sculpture she owns when Arlen states that the woman who babysat him when he was younger had an Edmondson sculpture in her backyard. While Cammie thinks she will be able to acquire an undiscovered work of art she learns a lesson concerning the ‘haves and have-nots’ of the world.
Have You Seen the Stolen Girl? zeroes in on Mrs. Wilson who lives in the house where Jesse James hid while evading the law in 1875 and every Halloween shares the story with the children who come for tricks or treats. Realizing her story is of no consequence at all to this generation of children she stops giving the candy treats and focuses instead on a ‘stolen girl’ that lived on the same block in her neighborhood trying to remember if she ever saw the little girl.
Just Married is comprised of four vignettes about married couples and their situations.
Jack and the Mad Dog is a surprisingly quirky sequel to the nursery rhyme ‘Jack and Jill’ that went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. This sequel is written with an interesting plot twist that is very enjoyable to read.
Mr. Tall: A Novella and Stories is a good collection of short stories surely to pique the interest of relationships genre book lovers alike. Even though the tales are short in length, they do pack a punch in their individual way. I recommend to avid readers who will enjoy this collection of works and tempted to use as a gifting opportunity.
I received this book free from Little, Brown, and Company Publishing through the Net Galley reviewer program in exchange for an unbiased opinion in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines.
October 24, 2014
Like Margaret Atwood’s recent Stone Mattress, this wonderful collection of novellas could easily be described as a selection of “tales”. With a confident style and unadorned dialogue, Earley effectively combines literary exploration of the marriage relationship with aspects of the Southern American folk tale. The stories range from the conventional side of the spectrum to the wild, fantastical side that would be at home in a genre anthology.
“Just Married”, a set of character relationship portraits, and “Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands” fall toward the conventional side. “Haunted Castles…” is a particularly strong opening to the collection, showcasing Earley’s talent at writing two characters dealing with life/relationship shifts. In this case concerning a wife and husband visiting a daughter now off at college, leaving the couple together in the isolation of a struggling relationship that contrasts the scenic, natural romanticism of the barrier islands they drive past on the way home. “Jack and the Mad Dog” falls at the other end with a clever play on a classic fairy-tale told with a meta fictional twist.
Earley’s most powerful tales fall in the middle of the spectrum. “The Cryptozoologist” and the best novella in the collection, “Mr Tall”, are special because they clearly combine the struggles of relationship at the crux of the protagonist’s being with the fantastic or symbolic elements of a folk tale. In “The Cryptozoologist” the loss of a spouse and the yearning to again feel the beauty of marriage and love becomes tied in time and place to a fleeting glimpse of a mythological creature and the burning desire to recapture a glimpse at its unique wonder.
“Mr Tall” fittingly gives this collection name. It conjures thoughts of the “tall tale”, and although the collection as a whole doesn’t really fit this form of folk tale, “Mr Tall” presents itself as a crafty twitching of the tall tale hallmarks. The historical story involves a young, naive, newly married woman whose devoted, but hard-working husband warns her not to visit their reclusive and seemingly dangerous neighbor, or approach his land. With certain unfulfilled feelings, general curiosity, and the boredom associated with being young and childless in the era, the wife ventures out exploring to learn more of this mysterious neighbor nicknamed Mr. Tall. Exaggeration is subtly present in the town mythology surrounding Mr. Tall. And the wife is filled with a light-hearted optimism that one can find in a tall tale. Yet this tale is grounded in reality that is not entirely pleasant, and the story serves to illustrate the maturing of the protagonist from blissful naiveté to greater caution and fear. “Mr Tall” is a tremendous story with richly developed characters who show genuine aspects of humanity both positive and negative.
I haven’t read Tony Earley’s first collection, but it is going on my list of things to gladly read. I enjoy this kind of mixture of literary with genre, and it is particularly rare to see it done with the American folktale in my experience at least as a reader. I also need to reread “Jack and the Mad Dog”, for I fear I missed too much the first time, not ready for its unconventionality, and I think additional insights into the other novellas could come from rereading, a testament to the quality of this collection.
Disclaimer: I received a free electronic reading copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Review originally posted on Reading1000Lives.com.
“Just Married”, a set of character relationship portraits, and “Haunted Castles of the Barrier Islands” fall toward the conventional side. “Haunted Castles…” is a particularly strong opening to the collection, showcasing Earley’s talent at writing two characters dealing with life/relationship shifts. In this case concerning a wife and husband visiting a daughter now off at college, leaving the couple together in the isolation of a struggling relationship that contrasts the scenic, natural romanticism of the barrier islands they drive past on the way home. “Jack and the Mad Dog” falls at the other end with a clever play on a classic fairy-tale told with a meta fictional twist.
Earley’s most powerful tales fall in the middle of the spectrum. “The Cryptozoologist” and the best novella in the collection, “Mr Tall”, are special because they clearly combine the struggles of relationship at the crux of the protagonist’s being with the fantastic or symbolic elements of a folk tale. In “The Cryptozoologist” the loss of a spouse and the yearning to again feel the beauty of marriage and love becomes tied in time and place to a fleeting glimpse of a mythological creature and the burning desire to recapture a glimpse at its unique wonder.
“Mr Tall” fittingly gives this collection name. It conjures thoughts of the “tall tale”, and although the collection as a whole doesn’t really fit this form of folk tale, “Mr Tall” presents itself as a crafty twitching of the tall tale hallmarks. The historical story involves a young, naive, newly married woman whose devoted, but hard-working husband warns her not to visit their reclusive and seemingly dangerous neighbor, or approach his land. With certain unfulfilled feelings, general curiosity, and the boredom associated with being young and childless in the era, the wife ventures out exploring to learn more of this mysterious neighbor nicknamed Mr. Tall. Exaggeration is subtly present in the town mythology surrounding Mr. Tall. And the wife is filled with a light-hearted optimism that one can find in a tall tale. Yet this tale is grounded in reality that is not entirely pleasant, and the story serves to illustrate the maturing of the protagonist from blissful naiveté to greater caution and fear. “Mr Tall” is a tremendous story with richly developed characters who show genuine aspects of humanity both positive and negative.
I haven’t read Tony Earley’s first collection, but it is going on my list of things to gladly read. I enjoy this kind of mixture of literary with genre, and it is particularly rare to see it done with the American folktale in my experience at least as a reader. I also need to reread “Jack and the Mad Dog”, for I fear I missed too much the first time, not ready for its unconventionality, and I think additional insights into the other novellas could come from rereading, a testament to the quality of this collection.
Disclaimer: I received a free electronic reading copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Review originally posted on Reading1000Lives.com.
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