The Liars' Asylum by Jacob Appel is a collection of short stories that leave the reader on her toes. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection because Appel’s stories are interspersed with comedy; however, I more-so enjoyed Appel’s ability to intentionally mislead the reader. While I read the stories about romances, attempted murders, and suicides, I found myself unable to guess where the ending would take me. For me, those stories are the best kinds of stories.
Another aspect I enjoyed about these stories was that they all leave you wanting more. In a way, the stories are both complete and incomplete at the same time. They wrap up the initial conflict of the story, but they all leave you wondering what happens after the conflict is resolved. For example, there is a story told by a young woman about a summer romance she had when she was fourteen. The young man she was with had a serious kidney disorder, and unfortunately, after that summer, they lost contact. The narrator doesn't know what becomes of him after their brief tryst, and it leaves the reader in agony (in a good way) to not know what happened.
Before this collection, I had not read any other work by Jacob Appel, but I can assure you that I will be hungry for more in the future. You can find the link to buy The Liars' Asylum on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Liars-Asylum-Jacob-M-Appel/dp/1625579756 Happy reading!
Comments