Book Review: 'The Acorn Stories' by Duane Simolke

Amazon Digital Services

"The Acorn Stories" by Duane Simolke is a collection of short stories that use a small West Texas town as its backdrop. Each story shows a little something about the townspeople. I really liked how it all kind of intertwines too. While reading 'The Acorn Stories," you really do feel like you are there. That is another plus for reading the collection.

It definitely isn't a boring collection or boring town for that matter. Acorn has plenty happening in it. There is your everyday drama, humor, jealousy, scandals, etc in Acorn. The collection has around sixteen stories in it and there is something for any reader. The book is well-crafted and some of my personal favorites include "Timothy Fast" (a hilarious Faust politician story), "Oak," "Morgana Le Fey," "Flip Turn," and Survival."

I also found "Paying the Rent" to be funny but kind of sad in a way. It's about a young man that can't pay his rent so he decides that the only way is to seduce a rich woman, though he doesn't exactly find her to be "the one." "The Acorn Stories" reminds us that nobody is perfect and that everyone is just trying to get by in life either it be by hurting others or by trying to change their life for the better. That is another reason why I liked the book.

So is "The Acorn Stories" worth to read (and travel to), I would say definitely yes. As someone who loves reading short stories, I found it to be an overall enjoyable read. It also reminded me of traveling to Port Charles or Geona City. Everyone has a secret, especially small towns!