All My Goodbyes


Fiction - Short Story/Novela
199 Pages
Reviewed on 03/13/2014
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Author Biography

Jacob Mendelsohn was born in Toronto, Canada into a religious organization that believed in the unity of Christ and Satan, though he is currently a follower of neither. He was raised in Chicago, Illinois where he weathered the harshness of winter cold and the bitterness of summer baseball. Upon reaching an age when he believed himself to be mature, he attended film school at New York University, which prepared him for a life of answering phones and typing letters. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, but is not overly-consumed by this fact.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Katelyn Hensel for Readers' Favorite

Jacob Mendelsohn shines with his book of short stories. With themes ranging from leaving your past behind to redemption and the broken people on society's edges, All My Goodbyes is a real thought provoker. A boy is the only witness to a tragic crime and struggles to overcome emotions of guilt, fear and confusion. Men, boys, girls, women, none are immune to the passing reflections of time, doubt, and fear. From the cover to the very last page, this is one novel that will leave you asking for more.

The stories all had an almost surrealist quality to them, and walked the fine line of reality without really going over it. There were elements of suspense and tension that really makes you sit up and pay attention to the story, to the characters, to everything that was going on all at once. I enjoyed each and every one, although Drift and The Early Hours were my favorites. There was a ton of good in these stories, and I wouldn't be unhappy to find out that some of them have been expanded on. Many could have easily been spread out into full length novels or novellas and I would have loved to see some of the character development that we first saw budding grow into even brighter flowers.

Most importantly, this is a very introspective series of stories, and they make you find yourself questioning; what are my weaknesses? What am I stuck on, what is causing my own despair? A somber, yet beautiful piece!

Michael McManus

All My Goodbyes by Jacob Mendelsohn is not a single story; it is many stories about many people, some of them very strange and some as normal as you and I. Take Wilson Anderson, a young boy who never learned to tie his shoes and rarely if ever uttered a single word. His mind held the secret of another boy’s death, but would he ever be able to share the information with anyone? Then there was the beautiful young girl who communicated with a falling star and knew when the end was coming. There is also the couple who meets by chance in Argentina and has a brief affair. They share information about each other, but it is all lies. Why do they do that and who are they really? One of my favorite stories is about four men who frequent a bar and a young female bartender who gives birth to a child out of wedlock. The men know each other only from the time they spend in the bar, but they team up to help the girl and go to great lengths to help her take care of the child. Later in the book we learn about a man who calls himself a “wandering Jew.” While he is not Jewish, he somehow wants to be, traveling the world and learning about that ancient religion. Some of the stories of these people are innocent and poetic, while many are earthy and passionate. Each tale is unique.

My only criticism of this book is that the stories are sometimes a bit hard to follow. It requires dedicated concentration to keep track of the people and where they fit into the story. On the other hand, the stories are interesting and thought provoking. I would recommend this book to a mature audience.