A Peculiar Day in the Douro Valley: Stories

by Benjamin Eric

A fascist fighter pilot and his talking dog receive unwanted visitors. A man goes to a doctor’s office, not understanding the concept of generational trauma. With the help of famed drummer Antonio Sánchez and some apparitions, an alcoholic gets help. One unusual black bear causes issues for a struggling real estate agent. A Peculiar Day in the Douro Valley is a collection of these short stories, along with others, that features a variety of characters as they react to their surreal world.

Kindle Edition

Published April 5, 2024

About the author

Benjamin Eric is a writer born and raised in Washington, DC. In 2012, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College. He was previously a member of the Washington DC Comedy Writers Group where he first began writing with local comics. His fiction has been featured in New Plains Review, On The Run, Querencia Press, and others. He is an editorial volunteer at Street Sense Media.

"A Peculiar Day in the Douro Valley and other stories" is his debut chapbook.

Reviews

[Tinamarie Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A peculiar set of stories. While some of these were a bit more odd than others, I found this collection entertaining. If surrealist art were to be transformed into fiction, this book would be the result. Well-written and excellent prose, I was drawn in to each story with the different characters.

[Kerry]

Benjamin Eric’s A Peculiar Day in the Douro Valley and Other Stories, published by Querencia Press, is a thin collection of flash fiction. It begins with “WTMMG” (“Will This Make Me Feel Good?”), a reflective vignette. In the title story, a Legionary Air Force veteran and his dog experienced a strange day, indeed, when the man discovered a Nazi couple looked for him. A confused and confusing man visits a doctor with “3 Ailments,” and wonders, “If trauma can be inherited, why not language? All history lives in the brain.” The poor, baffled doctor writes a prescription and sends the man on his way. (Trigger warning: This story becomes sexually graphic.) In “The High E,” a guitarist loses a part of himself, but may have found love. “Changes Or (Antonio Sánchez Saves the Day)” revisits the theme of music, with a doped up drummer at a rehab visited by a turn-of-the-last-century call girl explaining, “Events are just places you can see, not moments that have or haven’t happened” and an insightful therapist. In “_ Simon,” a realtor struggles to sell a difficult property and rekindle his failing marriage, but some troubles can be a real bear. “I Stumble Into a Home” is a sad poem, and “The Demon from Helsinki” ends this collection with contemplation. In under a hundred pages, Benjamin Eric’s eclectic collection elicits reactions, for certain, which is the aim of a good story.

[Jacqueline Nyathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m always up for surrealist fic because weird stories make the world fun. A couple of the stories in this collection were very fun indeed; the one with the talking dog (A Peculiar Day in the Douro Valley), and then the one with the (spoiler) black bear on the roof of a property that was up for sale (______Simon) were memorable, and I enjoyed them a lot. Some of the other stories, though were rather impenetrable for me, or just too sad.

So, I found this an uneven collection; but it was a quick read, with highlights. Thank you to Querencia Press and to NetGalley for early access.

[Charley Thomasin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars but feeling generous for the Goodreads scale.

I really liked some of the stories, especially towards the end of the book, just some other stories and poems didn't grab me so much. There's definitely some great writing in here and I do recommend it if you're looking for some short stories (I do think part of the reason this took me so long to finish is I don't tend to be that big on short stories or short story collections, but I'm very glad I finished it!).

[Elizabeth O'Keefe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I went into this thinking it would be a little different, which maybe is why I am rating it lower than others.

Normally I am not an essay/story person, I like the flow of a novel. The details, growth, characters, and sometimes the little things in between. This book was random stories, some a bit more out there than others, it was very well written, just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you NetGalley and Querencia Press for my DRC in exchange for my honest review.

[Naeem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very impressed with the precision of the prose in each of these stories. They engaged me and kept me inside them. Benjamin Eric's prose does not call attention to itself and yet, I could linger with each sentence if I wanted. While this is not the style that I usually read, I was surprised by what this writing was able to find in me – rooms and corners I did not know were there.