This review was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2...

This volume contains three stories, “I am Super Legend”, “The Child Comes Home” and “Look at Me”. The author has an interesting way of telling a story; it honestly took me a few paragraphs to ease into the first story, “I am Super Legend”, as I couldn’t quite understand what the father’s injury had anything to do with the main character’s story. But once my confusion cleared and I started getting into the story, I started enjoying Ruotolo’s stories and the way they unfold.

“The Child Comes Home” is probably my favourite from the three, the mother’s story and her struggle to move on after her son disappeared all those years ago resonated with me and I felt for the character. Of the three stories, I thought this one was the most fluid and it was quite easy to get into the story. There’s also a wonderful sense of location in this story that ties into Maria’s past and her story.

What’s also wonderful about her three stories is how there’s so much meaning underneath these tales of these seemingly ordinary lives as they struggle with their own problems and regrets and emotions. Whether it’s about living up to expectations or holding on to people long after, it’s something readers can relate to. I also enjoyed the hints of Italian culture throughout these stories, from football to the quirky details about the towns in which these characters live in. Overall I enjoyed reading I Stole the Rain and would recommend it to readers of contemporary fiction, short stories and those interested in Italian literature. italian-literature short-story-and-novellas1 Aaron (Typographical Era) 460 70

Long before Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize for Literature and the National Book Foundation all but assured George Saunders this year’s National Book Award for Fiction for his stunning collection Tenth of December, people “in the know” had been loudly proclaiming 2013 the year of the short story. Someone even went so far as to put up a website specifically dedicated to spreading the word about short fiction. Not content with stopping there, they went that extra mile and created a YoSStini badge that you can proudly slap on everything within your digital domain so that you can proclaim to the world that you loves you some delicious shorts. This grotesque piece of “art” is described by its creators as “one part deceptively simple syrup to two parts full-bodied booze with complex characters.” Pass me the barf bag please.

Back here on planet Earth or at least the Typographical version of it, people didn’t need extra encouragement to read short fiction. It’s just something we always did, and regardless of the sudden rash of unnecessary hype, it’s something we still do. So when Elisa Ruotolo’s new collection arrived in my inbox with a gentle chime I was excited. Here was something that wasn’t overly hyped drivel by Aimee Bender (UGH) or Karen Russell (seriously, I’m never reading anything by her ever again). Because what seems to be lost in this big push that aims to call attention to the art form of the short story are the lesser known names of the talents who have all but perfected it.

READ MORE:
http://www.typographicalera.com/i-sto... Rabid Readers Reviews546 23

The three short stories of “I Stole the Rain” are happy, dark, humorous, cynical, charming and sad. They are the human experience. Ruotolo creates truly quirky characters that are very well developed. You know the young focus of “I am Super Legend” has quite the challenge of overcoming his accidental reputation. Should he overcome it or can he work it to his advantage. In the time we spend with him, it’s hard not to feel sorry for him and hope for his success and in that wish a connection is made. The bond we build is a testament to the talent of Rutolo.

A drawback of “I Stole the Rain” is that there are times when the translation is very awkward. It must be terribly difficult to translate an artistic work especially given that translating too literally can interfere with the intent of the work. Many times over the course of “I Stole the Rain,” I had to stop reading to go back and try to work out awkward reading to the base meaning.

Overall these character sketches for southern Italy serve as a nice little time away. My favorite story was “Look at Me” which contained many layers within the narrative. The young boy who is attempting to match make develops understanding over time of what he may not have noticed before. The talent of this author shines through awkward wordings. While I’m not sure that I would read her again, I thoroughly enjoyed “I Stole the Rain.”
Kimberly WestropeAuthor 8 books9

This is a collection of three stories. I tried several times to get through these stories, and just couldn't do it. I do not care for this author's writing style, not was I interested in the subject matter of any of these stories. I'm not saying they're bad stories, just not stories I am interested in. Others may find them entertaining and interesting. Betty Swits1 review

Such a shame that a decent collection of short stories has been absolutely ruined by truly appalling translation. There’s really nothing else to say about this book. Andrea119 1 follower

Autor del comentario:
=================================