Stories From Separation, Texas

by John J. Asher

A collection of fifteen blue-collar stories, period and contemporary—1866 through the present.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 20, 2012

Reviews

[Emily Lomaka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommend! A pretty fantastic collection of stories. If you're on the fence, try not be dissuaded by reviewers grumbling about a lack of resolution; these tales are meant to be snapshots in time of the characters' hardscrabble lives, and to try to tidy them up with a bow at the end would be a disservice to each narrative.

[Jerry Nachison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not the best for short story reviews, especially over a 150 year span of ideas. I liked them overall. Many were thoughts I admit beyond the pale for me but spread over a bunch of nights easy to assimilate and understand - whether in one level or three, and all things between. Overall I reccommend these. It's a good way to get the brain knocking on the door in a few non-traditional ways.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to rate a book of short stories and these are a really mixed bag. Some are really sad, others tragic, one made me laugh out loud. Some are just a snapshot in a life. I found them an interesting read but enjoyed some more than others. Fair to say though, that most of them made me think.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the fifteen stories in Stories From Separation, Texas are quite depressing. A couple are interesting. I don’t particularly recommend taking the time to read them.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay read

The stories were okay. I am probably not the biggest expert on short stories but sometimes I was confused. I think the last 2 stories were my favorites.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories are dark. And most of them are pretty depressing. I thought they were beautiful and I love the way Asher writes.

[Steve · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay...so we know west Texas was rough but...isn't there something uplifting about it? Why have only bummer stories? Many of these "short stories" had no beginning and, especially aggravating....no ending! They just stopped. Good short stories have some sort of ending, don't they? I read all of the chapters waiting for something positive...but only hard times. Texas is worth much more than that. Not happy with this "book". It would be better to have longer chapters with more development and some sort of completion instead of just a "sketch".

[Aubrey Horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm an Asher fan. I've read his novels and like his writing style.

This collections of short stories is a strong read per its portrayal of snakebit characters in small-town Texas.

I liked "Hard Hit" the most. This story really comes alive on the page. I think it could be the foundation for a feature film of the Western genre. Or it might make a wonderful short period film.

Good stuff.

Thank you, John, for sharing your storytelling.

[Marie (UK) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Iam not a fan of short stories, this collection has not changed my viewpoint. There is some connection between the stories - setting and characters but it doesn't help with the mainly dreariness of each one. One interminable tale is followed by about 3 pages of author's notes about his grandfather - honestly it does nothing for me

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The short story is hard to master, yet Asher shows he is a Master in this selection. I do love short stories, for their mechanisms and punch, and I was drawn in to Asher's portrayals. I'm becoming a bigger fan of his work the more I read.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of Southern Gothic and I HATED "Birthday" and "Seeds," but the writing is excellent and "The Couple in Number 10" really spoke to me.

The author really comes down hard on father-son relationships!

[Bibi Silvas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I don't usually like short stories, but these were pretty good.

[Paul McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good collection of short stories with a few reoccurrences of characters and mostly taking place in fictional separation Texas.

[Jean Kulczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

May be my first 5 star review

These are stories that invite one to keep reading. The unifying factor is location. Variety in plot and character is delightful.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read about two thirds of the stories - some just didn't grab me, but I enjoyed the ones I did read.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Variable collection, my favourites were Joyride and Runaway.

[Russel G. Metzger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book.

I could put this book down. His writing is so intense, and very realistic. In every story you are there.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great set of short stories set in Texas and Texas-related places.