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Poetic and Perplexing

Revisado: 06-07-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

"Secret Turning" by Stephen Siniari has been a perplexing book for me. This book of short stories is about the community of the fictional St. Alexander the Whirling Dervish parish. A community to which I had a hard time connecting until the end of the book. For the first half of the book, I didn’t feel much affinity for any of the characters. Many of the stories don't connect with my experiences in the parishes I have been blessed to join. That does not mean that I believe the stories aren’t genuine. Perhaps, I had a hard time connecting with them because there were several times characters and places felt lost in their descriptions. There was clearly a lot of care put into the poetry of the words, but it was all spelled out so exactly there was little room for the unveiling of character. They were what they were described as and nothing else. I could never quite get my head around what the community was like beyond appearances and the direct insights of the story's narrator.
There were moments that genuinely touched me in this book, but overall, it wasn’t for me. That being said, it might be perfect for those who enjoy detailed character descriptions, gritty short stories, and fiction about Orthodox characters. It is fantastic that Orthodox writers are publishing more fiction that is readily available to order! There is so much truth that can shine through in stories, and I hope Stephen Siniari and other Orthodox authors continue to be supported in this work!
A note on the audiobook. The audio tends to be soft, and I found I had to turn it up often to not lose the thread of the story. I am guessing a quieter environment or headphones would help with this.

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