kalventure
Written on Jan 19, 2018
I don't really know how I feel about A Storm of Stories. This book is a collection of short stories that are loosely tied together with an interesting narrative: two strangers sharing stories together while trapped in a stranded car during a blizzard. This is an interesting premise that I have not seen before, and as Julie and Peter share their goals for the future and past regret I was impressed with the framing of regret and desire in a life and death situation.
The book is written technically well but unfortunately the tale is not executed very well. The writing is choppy at times and I struggled to believe the dialogue of the characters (both Julie and Peter and the characters within their stories). I was disappointed by the rather heavy-handed allusions of "past lives" from Peter, particularly after getting to his explaining that he is an atheist, and that there was no resolution or explanation for it. I was equally bothered by the palm reading plot thread and the weak explanation for it.
I was shocked by the ending and it was not what I expected. Had this been a cozy mystery or thriller I would have been pleased by a twist, but for me the meaning that I had gleaned from the narrative was essentially ruined. I appreciated that Peter found a reason to live in the end and wanting Julie to live on through her stories, but for me the ending ruined the book.
This was a quick read, and truthfully better than I expected since I picked it up when Bookbub alerted me to it being free (it was a flash sale).