Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is a marvelous collection of poems and short stories. I have read it six or seven times, always with deep pleasure. In an age of hyperbole and phoniness, Frank J. Edwards creates images and narratives that ring true, yet reveal life to be more interesting than we realized. Even if we have seen hundreds of TV shows about emergency departments, Edwards' story "It'll Ease the Pain" paints a portrait of one doctor's 24-hour stint that is fresh and unforgettable.
The short story "Cadillac in the Driveway" captures the hope and anguish of growing up with an incompetent parent. My soul aches every time I read the story.
Edwards' poetry is mesmerizing -- a form of magic. For example, in the poem "Several Days Before Christmas," an emergency doctor gives advice on how to tell people that a loved one has died. The advice is simple, but in Edwards' hands, it becomes a poignant literary gem.
In another poem, the opening lines demonstrate the power and economy of Edwards' poetry:
On thirty day leave from the Army,
next stop Vietnam,
I boilermakered myself bellicose,
and finally a cop arrived.
This book is filled with fascinating vignettes, delivered gracefully by a master wordsmith.
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The poems and stories in this collection range far and wide, from a vision of life through the eyes of an emergency physician, to the Vietnam War, to a rooftop during a snow storm, to reminiscences of strange uncles, to parenting, to the disintegration of a marriage on a surrealistic roller coaster somewhere in Mexico, and much more.
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