One Night in the Hill Country by Felipe Adan Lerma

Spend a lovely leisurely day on the beach yesterday, and besides working on my tan I also finished another book. I got up at 6.30 this morning to take advantage of a faster Internet connection in the Hotel. It slows a lot once the other guests switch on their computers.

One Night in the Hill Country by Felipe Adan Lerma

This author likes to experiment with writing styles and push the boundaries of language. Love it or hate it, it should always be admired. This is my second book by this author and so far my favourite. Felipe Adan Lerma explains his motivation and background to the book in a prologue. His decision to go for very short chapters and an almost staccato style of writing, works well in this case. The chapters are told from a different perspective each serve to build tension. As Sam and the children drive into the Hill country looking for a kitten, we also get Tara’s story as she brings an illegal immigrant girl back to the farm. The two groups of people are set for a disastrous meeting. It was an unusual plot that had me gripped to the final nail biting scenes. The novella is very short at about 30.000 words and I read it in a day on the beach while I was on holiday. I would recommend it as a holiday or commute read. I’m also a big fan of putting cute kittens..ehm..well, anywhere and this book has a box full of them. Looking forwards to see what Mr.Lerma will do next.

A Paris short

After reading two sizable ebooks I took a breather and tackled this short story;

Rendevous, Place saint-Michel By Felipe Adan Lerma

Rendezvous-Place-Saint-Michel

This is a short story about an American (Texan) Grand-father who takes his grandchildren for a walk one night along the streets of Paris. His grandson wants to photograph Paris at night and his two cousins come along for the excitement. What I liked about the story is the author’s description of Paris by night, and the rather sweet story of his granddaughter experiencing her first kiss.

The author describes this book as a short stand-alone story, but it also forms part of another book; Slumming it in Paris. I might have agreed if it was altered a little. We’re introduced to a bewildering seven characters but only four take parts in the story. The language the Author uses might be common in Texas but I found words such as ‘Kinda’ and ‘gonna’ sat uncomfortably with more poetic language like ‘Her eyes caressed a smile.’ I think this makes a much better chapter than a short story.

I give it 3 stars.