Book Reviews

Today's society may find it easy to ignore homelessness. However, Lisa Candelaria Bartlett not only confronts the ugly truths of life on the streets, she embraces them. Then, she adds beautiful insightful sprinkles showcasing human emotion at its best, enveloping and underscoring the concept of soul. She does all this through solid crisp writing found in her new book, Train Tales.

This sharp witted, thought-provoking collection of tales invites the reader to experience the world through the eyes of homeless characters. We see first hand the day-to-day struggles, and challenges experienced by those without a real bed to sleep in. With crystal clear descriptions, the author allows the readers to easily grasp how being without an address doesn't diminish from, the depth of emotions felt, the dreams for the future envisioned, and the promise of love and passion gripped around our hearts. All are alive and stirring in her homeless characters.

Intertwining and spanning over years, told through the hearts of several main characters in third-person narrative, Bartlett offers a diverse set of individuals with varying backgrounds: Benito, Darry, Vega, Gypsy...grab the attention of the reader --immediately. Every character is intriguing in a multi-faceted way and presented to the reader in a fresh stand-up writing style.

Train Tales is a book reminding us that we are all humans no matter where we find and make our homes. Every single one of us has secrets to hide, partners to love, enemies to plot revenge against. These emotions, stir, swell, erupt, explode, recede, and reside in the spirit of all living beings --not just a privileged few.

An added bonus: Bartlett, an award-winning author, uses poetic expressions to further illustrate her characters. These poems not only exemplify her writing talents, they give the reader a deeper look into the depths of her characters. Her tight wording, flow of rhythm, poignant dialogue, make the book an easy read without being "preachy".

Title: Train Tales Written by: Lisa Candelaria Bartlett

PublishAmerica ISBN-10: 1604415118 ISBN-13: 978-1604415117 73 pages five stars