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I Tried Calling
"This book is a collection of the voices you hear after a tape rewinds. The voices from your past you never thought you'd hear again. The voices that wash over the quiet of your apartment when you walk inside from the rain and see a blinking light and press play."
Written by Austin Abbott, this is a book of short stories formatted as transcripts of messages left on answering machines
Written by Austin Abbott, this is a book of short stories formatted as transcripts of messages left on answering machines
120 pages, Paperback
First published March 8, 2024
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4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 10, 2024
These are short stories told as if transcribed from answering machines and voicemails. Some are micro fiction, and some run a bit longer at several pages each.
Personally, with what I got going on right now, 4. 3:15 A.M., Tuesday, August 20, 2019 was one of my favorites. Featuring a message left by an ex about letting go.
I found the format in which this was done to be incredibly unique, unlike anything I’ve read before. With so much of it together, the transcribing kind of read like a play written out, especially the few bits where more than one person would speak. It wasn’t really the kind of thing I would have gone out of my way for usually, and I’ve probably only read like five plays in my entire life too, but I found that I really enjoyed this.
The author mixes comedy, drama, dysfunction, emotion, loss, and some beats from the time in which each were written. He does so in a way that still reads like things you would hear in actual messages, they were all believable. The funny ones especially, are ones I would love to actually hear on my phone for real.
Check this out for something different and quick! Personally a 5/5*
Personally, with what I got going on right now, 4. 3:15 A.M., Tuesday, August 20, 2019 was one of my favorites. Featuring a message left by an ex about letting go.
I found the format in which this was done to be incredibly unique, unlike anything I’ve read before. With so much of it together, the transcribing kind of read like a play written out, especially the few bits where more than one person would speak. It wasn’t really the kind of thing I would have gone out of my way for usually, and I’ve probably only read like five plays in my entire life too, but I found that I really enjoyed this.
The author mixes comedy, drama, dysfunction, emotion, loss, and some beats from the time in which each were written. He does so in a way that still reads like things you would hear in actual messages, they were all believable. The funny ones especially, are ones I would love to actually hear on my phone for real.
Check this out for something different and quick! Personally a 5/5*
May 9, 2024
My very unbiased opinion of this book is that it’s hilarious and heart wrenching and immediately transports you into the world of the voicemail, no matter how short. Beautifully written and for me an amalgamation of the sporadic thoughts and details paid attention to by my husband’s brain.
Let me entice you with my favorite quote: “I’m something of an amateur photographer when I’m not fingering the horn.”
Let me entice you with my favorite quote: “I’m something of an amateur photographer when I’m not fingering the horn.”
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews