A Bigger Piece of Blue

Stories

Fiction - Short Story/Novela
264 Pages
Reviewed on 12/11/2017
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Edith Wairimu for Readers' Favorite

A Bigger Piece of Blue by Dan T. Cox is a collection of short stories that incorporate the experiences of characters going through different challenges in their lives, and which touch on love, family relations, making life-changing decisions and experiencing resulting consequences. The writer emphasizes the impact of decisions we make in everyday life, and their impact in our lives as illustrated in the first story, A Bigger Piece of Blue, where Creighton Bliss chooses to be with his love, Ella, and she chooses him too. From the beginning of their lives together, Ella feels she can count on Bliss and chooses to meet him every day. Years pass and the love they share grows even stronger.

Writing with tact and precision, Dan T. Cox presents the subtle truth of real life, exploring the imperfection of each person in the stories contained in A Bigger Piece of Blue. This unpretentious way of writing makes the characters believable and enhanced my ability to identify with each of them. Dan T. Cox does a great job in creating vivid characters whose stories left a deep impression on me, such as in Night Paving, where Elsie Bly ponders on the thought of her death and becomes convinced that not even her own father, Frank, would grieve if she died. Additionally, In All New Dancers, Celia cannot even consider going back to her father to ask for help in her time of need. Each scene is gripping and contains incredible depth. Overall, the book is well-written and recommended for any reader with a love for short stories.

Ankita Shukla

The wide variety of topics that author Dan T. Cox has covered in A Bigger Piece of Blue is truly exceptional. There are 13 short stories that go from the romance genre to the paranormal genre among others. A few of these stories go on to fill many pages to reach a climax; whereas a few others don't seem to go beyond a monologue. No matter what the length of any story is, there is something to hold the interest of readers. The story titled A Bigger Piece of Blue talks about a man falling in love with a woman who is at least 15 years older than him. As he reminisces about his courtship period with this woman, one might think there would only be romance and all the romantic gestures involved; however, the author manages to add a twist to the story to give readers a hint that this is no ordinary collection. When the first story is as gripping as this one, I, as a reader, know that I have picked a gem. I am delighted to announce that I wasn't disappointed in the least.

There is a depth in most of the stories of this collection. This depth adds flavor for those readers who crave a philosophical angle in any book that they pick. There are stories that will make you ponder on various aspects of life. My favorite one is the story titled Splendid Purpose, where the author gently points out that being a wife does not mean that one must forget all about their identity. Work on your identity, hone your skills, keep on dreaming, and be someone. My favorite story is the one that has an unexpected twist. Without giving away any spoilers, I will just give the title: Pictures of Me. Each story has well-defined characters with whom I could connect very easily. The plot develops beautifully in most of the stories. Two or three stories did not make me feel anything at all. These were generally the ones that ended too quickly or left me wondering. I like stories that keep me on the edge of my seat, but don't leave me there. Obviously, other readers might not feel the same.