Your Pick: Selected Stories by V.S. Kemanis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A good story either breaks the reader’s heart or makes it sing. An excellent story has the power to do both.

“Dust of the Universe”, a story from the short story collection “Your Pick: Selected Stories” by V.S. Kemanis, made my heart break into a million pieces, but it filled with light again by the time I finished reading it.

Demonstrating a profound knowledge of human nature – and various professions – the author doesn’t spare details to make us completely invested in every story.

Reading “Pianissimo, Fortissimo”, I mused again why I had left playing the piano behind. I got my answer. “Whether alone or with an orchestra, I have no separate existence. My body should not be seen. I’m no more than an instrument of the voice speaking through me.” I’d never felt this way when playing. I’d always been conscious about my performance and worried about making mistakes. When music is your true calling, the pull of the melody and the instrument overshadows any worries. The feeling of complete immersion is beautifully described in this heart-wrenching and at the same time uplifting short story.

“Rosemary and Reuben” is a surprising dive into the inner life of the couple – let’s say, that doesn’t fit into the traditional expectations of how lovers arrive at the “happily-ever-after” station. Have you heard about hyperosmia and hypergeusia before? Even if you had, I doubt you can imagine how these unpleasant conditions can help find one’s true love.

“He’s learned to remain quiet. Honesty doesn’t require more, and self-explanation is useless when the recipient will never really understand.” Some say that other people are like open books. Others that they are a mystery. Arthur in “Reckoning” believes that he will never be understood by others. So, he stopped trying to make them see beyond his shell. “Arthur learned this hard lesson years ago, when his youthful exuberance fell on deaf ears and his colors met blindness and his ideas were received with blank smiles and speechlessness. Gradually, over time, he’s been shaped on the outside to resemble anyone else, a creeping crumble into grayness, while he continues to live on the inside, sending out tendrils of hope.” And what a life it is! Moderately successful and pedantic, Arthur doesn’t attract attention. But what if someone who lives in a similar shell manages to peek through the outer grey wall?

Each story from this collection is like a micro-universe, multi-layered and deep, hiding the lives ‘before’ and ‘after’, at the same time submerging the reader into the present with vivid descriptions and details that make each character real. Every story, selected from the highly acclaimed and literary award-winning story collections, reveals a moment in time for a person, a family, or a team of colleagues with a somewhat painful clarity. And because of this uncompromising exposure, we become participants - rather than readers - in each character’s life journey.



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Your Pick: Selected Stories