Dear Abital, here’s a book of short stories

I’m glad that you made a comment asking for a review on a book of short stories. Here is a book that I read.

Short Stories

by Nicholas KF Matte.

There are 15 short stories in the book. Here are brief reviews of a few of them.

(1) Midday Bus Ride

This reflects the reality of the situation in Israel. The countries may be fighting or at war, but the peoples are sociable, due to their long enduring friendships. Their countries may be at war with each other, but their native peoples are migrants in each other’s countries.

(2) Mad Jack

This is a scene from World War I. I begin to understand the author has tried to write of historical events.

(3) Kamyaka

A local tour guide in India honors an ancient sacred ground by paying tribute to its history. One tourist in the group is rewarded for his piety, when he finds a precious jade statue which was left behind by a man years ago in history. The reader knows because it is in the story.

(4) Chiharu

This is a story of how a man calls his love interest, by playing his flute.

(5) A Fictional Account of How Napoleon’s Horse Got Its Name

This is a humorous story.

(6) At The Gate

This masculine story relates how a brave man dies on the battlefield. He has arrived at the Gate of Heaven, also commonly named as the Pearly Gates.

(7) One Heck of a Guest

Nicholas dives into his background to write this tale. He is an accomplished musician, and can also conduct an orchestra. He has shared his numerous music videos at https://www.youtube.com/@nicholaskfmatte3013

In this story, he provides an insight into a fan meeting with a maestro. We usually read about the perfect fan meeting; but not this one. One poor guy is besotted with a hero and he is so nervous, to the point that he metaphorically collapses in a heap. It is funny and yet the. author never makes fun of poor Marcus. He lets the behaviors speak for the man.

(8) A Brewing Season in the Georgia Hills

Mr Matte is a good guy who doesn’t condone crime. This story tells that revenge also doesn’t pay. Proceeds harvested from a dubious field becomes the evidence that sends the bunch of men into jail. They’re still determined to live it up with good food, in jail. In freedom or in prison, the way to a man’s heart, is through his stomach.

(9) At The Club

This is almost like a typical story explaining what goes on behind the scenes of a band of musicians. Playing music is in the blood and soul of a musician. However, it can not be forced. There are times when the player goes in search of his inspiration or answer.

(10) The Forest of Night

When circumstances are bleak, it is like a forest of dark night. There are situations where humans can not extricate themselves from dire difficulties. We can try to turn towards our faith, beliefs and religious practices, to perhaps experience emotional relief, psychological de-stressing and maybe, tangible help from the Universe.

Meditation and prayer are the two powerful tools by which traditional modes of intervention are accessed, to seek relief. I like this quote:

“This is an example of the triumph of repetive prayer, the nianfo, the nembutsu, rosaries or whichever other wonderful religious practice utilized to achieve a positive goal when one is set under uncertain circumstances. “

Matte, p.34

Yes, yes, I vouch for praying the rosary.

And so forth until story #14. I’m continuing the summaries soon.

The author included a wide selection of stories as he tries hard to please as many readers as possible, from different countries, and different walks of life.

Fiction book plus two

At the end of the printed pages, there are some blank pages for the reader to record their memories and impressions of the stories. It is like a scrapbook space. If the reader has traveled to those countries, and have photos, they can paste them in the blank pages and label them under the specific country. If there are souvenirs like plane ticket, bus ticket, tourist attraction admission ticket, restaurant menu, stickers, and etc, these can also be glued to the scrapbook pages.

Mr. Matte donates 10% of every book sale to the food bank, a charity. You can find out more of their work in https://www.foodbanking.org/

How did I come across this book?

I first came across Nicholas through Rojie’s blog. He was a regular commentator. I clicked on his avatar and reached his website and youtube channel. I bought and reviewed his book for my blog content.

Feedback:

Mr. Matte is a good story teller, using action packed scenes.

Where to find this book?

books.bignick.ca

whatsthekey.bignick.ca

bignick.ca

Amazon.com

Besides Short Stories, Mr. Matte has written one volume of “Poems and Haikus“, and a book titled “The Slumbering Monk“.

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