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A View from Memory Hill
We live life forwards, but understand it backwards.It's a personal journey, either way.The characters in this story collection are looking back into the half-shaded landscapes of memory. Most are getting on in years, but young voices appear too, in stories uplifting and regretful, comic and sinister, poignant and optimistic.Common ground is that moment of realisation - eventful, fleeting or veiled - unearthed during a journey into the past.Will 'Ruby, the Silver Surfer' learn to cut and paste and save?Should 'Billy the Quid' sell up?Can Frank Smith cope with being an 'Old Man in a Young Pub'?Why is Lydia 'Sleepless in Southampton'?'What's in your bag, mister?' asks the small boy in 'A Bag for Life'.See for yourself.
150 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 16, 2017
About the author
Paul Toolan
8 books32 followersPaul Toolan is a bearded, left-handed, non-swimming Piscean who was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, quite a long time ago. He's now a Southern softie enjoying the green landscape of England's West Country. After a successful career in Colleges and Universities, he wrote book/lyrics for stage musicals before ‘turning to murder’.
His mystery novels feature Inspector ‘Zig’ Batten, an urban Northerner displaced to Somerset where, to his horror, he discovers they still have crime. Worse, despite a fear of flying, Zig must sometimes forsake cider-land to confront villains in foreign countries such as Greece and Spain.
Like Zig, Paul enjoys walking, fishing, gardens and the occasional whisky. Unlike him, he appreciates sport and mushrooms, and loves travelling to sunnier climes. His idea of bliss is a slow lunch at a beachside taverna after productively tapping a keyboard to the ebb and flow of the Mediterranean sea.
'A Killing Tree', 'A January Killing', 'An Easter Killing', 'The Killing of Queen Mab' and 'A Secret Killing' are rural noir crime mysteries with a fair slice of dark humour. Though largely set amid the apple-orchards of Somerset, escapades overseas bring added variety. The sixth book in the series, 'A Ring O'Bells Killing, is available on Amazon now, in Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and paperback formats
All can be read standalone.
Paul's first collection of "beautifully poignant and funny" stories, 'A View from Memory Hill', gives voice to the dilemmas of mostly older minds, whose common ground is the half-shaded landscape of memory.
His mystery novels feature Inspector ‘Zig’ Batten, an urban Northerner displaced to Somerset where, to his horror, he discovers they still have crime. Worse, despite a fear of flying, Zig must sometimes forsake cider-land to confront villains in foreign countries such as Greece and Spain.
Like Zig, Paul enjoys walking, fishing, gardens and the occasional whisky. Unlike him, he appreciates sport and mushrooms, and loves travelling to sunnier climes. His idea of bliss is a slow lunch at a beachside taverna after productively tapping a keyboard to the ebb and flow of the Mediterranean sea.
'A Killing Tree', 'A January Killing', 'An Easter Killing', 'The Killing of Queen Mab' and 'A Secret Killing' are rural noir crime mysteries with a fair slice of dark humour. Though largely set amid the apple-orchards of Somerset, escapades overseas bring added variety. The sixth book in the series, 'A Ring O'Bells Killing, is available on Amazon now, in Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and paperback formats
All can be read standalone.
Paul's first collection of "beautifully poignant and funny" stories, 'A View from Memory Hill', gives voice to the dilemmas of mostly older minds, whose common ground is the half-shaded landscape of memory.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 21, 2017
A View from Memory Hill by Paul Toolan is a fascinating collection of short stories, twelve in all, each written from the perspective of protagonists who are in their ‘golden years’ – facing both the ravages time has wreaked upon bodies and minds as well as the feelings of disconnection from the hectic pace of the present day. I love short stories, and these are gems – well written, with wonderful dialog and quintessentially ‘English’ characters and situations.
All these stories are good but my two favorites are “A Bag for Life” and “And the Next Train is…” In a “Bag for Life” we find a touching portrayal of relationship and faithfulness that outlasts the limits of physical life. In “And the Next Train is…” the author gives us an unusual quirky take on the subject of ‘passing of the torch’ from one generation to the next. The exposition of hard won wisdom in the form of an irrepressible enigmatic crone whose ‘chance’ encounter with a young man on the verge of entering full adulthood, turns him from his path into a wonderful new adventure.
At the end of this fine work we are treated to a short Zig Batten story! This was wholly unexpected and delightful. For those who have not yet discovered Mr. Toolan’s irreverent, hardboiled Detective Inspector Batten I would urge you to immediately make his acquaintance in “A Killing Tree” You will thank me! Overall I gave this collection a rating of five stars and very well deserved.
All these stories are good but my two favorites are “A Bag for Life” and “And the Next Train is…” In a “Bag for Life” we find a touching portrayal of relationship and faithfulness that outlasts the limits of physical life. In “And the Next Train is…” the author gives us an unusual quirky take on the subject of ‘passing of the torch’ from one generation to the next. The exposition of hard won wisdom in the form of an irrepressible enigmatic crone whose ‘chance’ encounter with a young man on the verge of entering full adulthood, turns him from his path into a wonderful new adventure.
At the end of this fine work we are treated to a short Zig Batten story! This was wholly unexpected and delightful. For those who have not yet discovered Mr. Toolan’s irreverent, hardboiled Detective Inspector Batten I would urge you to immediately make his acquaintance in “A Killing Tree” You will thank me! Overall I gave this collection a rating of five stars and very well deserved.
October 23, 2017
I enjoyed this book of short stories that dealt with people that are aging. Being that I am getting close to that "certain age" I understood the feelings of quite a few characters. The author writes his stories with true feeling.
When I finished reading, I feel quite nostalgic. Where have the years gone? So many memories had me a bit emotional, truthfully. If you enjoy short stories, this is a good book.
* I was provided an ARC to read from the publisher and NetGalley. It was my decision to read and review this book.
When I finished reading, I feel quite nostalgic. Where have the years gone? So many memories had me a bit emotional, truthfully. If you enjoy short stories, this is a good book.
* I was provided an ARC to read from the publisher and NetGalley. It was my decision to read and review this book.
October 28, 2017
This collection of short stories is a surprising showcase for Paul Toolan's writing - surprising because I'm more used to his darkly comic detective series. These stories are tender without being sentimental, highlighting the irritations and the tragedy of growing old and - in many cases - infirm, but they also convey a hopefulness of spirit through characters who refuse to let age or widowhood get the better of them.
Readable and uplifting, these stories show Paul Toolan's skills as a perceptive and wryly humorous storyteller.
Readable and uplifting, these stories show Paul Toolan's skills as a perceptive and wryly humorous storyteller.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews