Review of The Hungry Heart Stories

I would like to tell you about the author before I review the book. Fran Metzman is the co-author of the book, Ugly Cookies, with Joy E. Stocke. She has received several prizes and was nominated for a Dzanc Books Award, “Best of the Web” 2009. She received an MA from the University of Pennsylvania and BFA from Moore College of Art. A teacher of creative writing and memoir, she has led workshops at: Temple University, Pennsylvania State College, Bryn Mawr College and Rosemont College.

Fran is a fiction editor for the Schuylkill Valley Journal and also writes articles for the online journal, The Wild River Review.  Her blog, The Age of Reasonable Doubt, relates to women’s and men’s issues, relationships, and other topics of sociological impact.

The Hungry Heart. Each story is a feast both with the characters that grab hold of our hearts and the food which knits itself reverently through each tale.

I’ll start my review of the book with the story, My Inheritance. The characters reminded me of my own roller coaster ride of emotions with my mother, and Fran’s description of the daily give and take between a daughter and her failing mother was right on, especially the discussion revolving around the tea set.

                               
          Myra’s garden, tells us about a dangerous obsession about a woman who tries to work her way into a neighbor’s home and heart with food. This story has a dark ending.

Hop Down Memory Lane is a tale of how a widow uses food as a memorial for her dead husband. I love the ending to this story.

Getting Closer is a peek into the ways a Mother can use food as a control tactic over her daughter. But it is the Essay at the end of the book, which gives us an appreciation for the preceding stories and the source of inspiration for the author.

I would recommend this book to everyone and I will be buying a few to pass around to family and friends. Thank you for visiting the different sites on The Hungry Heart Stories blog tour and please come visit our blogs in the future.

http://monsura.blogspot.com  Welcome to hell by Glenn Walker

http://gilbertcuriosities.blogspot.com  Gilbert Curiosities by Marie Gilbert

http://shelleyszajner.wordpress.com  Writing-Art-Metaphysics by Shelley Szajner

http://beccabutcher.wordpress.com  Becca Butcher’s blog by Becca Butcher

http://www.miekezmackay.com  the Author in training by Mieke Zamora-Mackay

http://jennifermeaton.com  A Reference of Writing Rants for Writers or Learn from my Mistakes by Jennifer E. Eaton.

http://dreambetween.wordpress.com/  The Dream Between by Robin Renee

http://kamagrowski.wordpress.com/  Literary Debauchery by Krista Magrowski