People Underestimate the Value of a Good Ramble

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake

I finished reading The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake. I'm still not sure how I feel exactly. I liked them, but I think I need more time to digest. My favorite of the stories was probably "Time and Again," which was, in my opinion, the creepiest of them, or maybe "The Way It Has To Be."

Ever since I started to read them, I've had the niggling feeling that the folksy Appalachian tales were somehow familiar or reminiscent of something I've read before. I just can't put my finger on it. I even tried doing a little research to see if anyone else thought the same. Apparently, no, because I couldn't find what I wanted.

In any case, what I found most interesting, was how much texture Breece Pancake's stories have, especially because of how young he was when the stories were written. Not that I'm saying you have to be older to write well, but obviously life experiences add to what you have to say. It just felt as if Pancake shared more in his stories than he would have been able to experience and absorb in his few years.

They were well worth the read, so you may want to check them out.

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