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Monday, March 24, 2014

GIVEAWAY & REVIEW of The Frangipani Hotel: Stories by Violet Kupersmith

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)
about book:

A self-assured and stunning collection by an astonishingly gifted new writer, these stories—based on traditional Vietnamese tales—are sure to appeal to fans of Karen Russell, Jennifer Egan, Colson Whitehead, George Saunders, and Téa Obrecht. The Frangipani Hotel blends the old world and the new with fantastical, chilling, and original explorations of the ghosts that continue to haunt us: those of the Vietnam War.

my thoughts:

I love short stories.  So, when I heard about Kupersmith's book, The Frangipani Hotel, I figured I'd give it a read.  And, boy am I happy I did.  This debut collection of  ghost short stories was terrific!

There are nine stories in all and each one is a combination of the modern day thriller and Vietnamese folktales.  She managed to create such hauntingly, mysterious stories that proved to be a great way of exploring the aftermath of the Vietnam War.  Plus, the eerie, unexpected twists and turns in each story gave me goosebumps and made the whole reading experience such fun.  Kupersmith's mix of reality and the otherworldly was exciting and spooky - it was the perfect blending of cultures and traditions.  I absolutely loved reading this book!  The writing was simply engaging and the stories were unputdownable.  I know that I haven't really provided much details regarding the stories themselves, but that would ruin them.  These are the kind of tales you need to get lost in and enjoy for yourself - believe me, you want those goosebumps!

I would most definitely recommend The Frangipani Hotel to fans of ghost stories and short stories - you are in for a treat!  I'm excited to read more of Kupersmith's works in the future - apparently she's in the midst of a novel (hurrah!!).

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!!

GIVEAWAY: Open to US residents only.  The publisher is allowing me to give away one copy of this fantastic book - The Frangipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith.  All you have to do is leave me a comment providing me with the name of your favorite book of short stories or the name of your favorite ghost story - don't forget your email address, so I can contact you.  Last day to enter is April 5th.  Good luck!!

7 comments:

♡♥♬ Carolsue ♡♥♬ said...

Dear Life: Stories by Alice Munro is my favorite book of short stories. The Ghost of Christmas Past is my favorite ghost!
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net

Suko said...

I'm glad you enjoyed this! I just posted my review of the collection, and am now "checking out" what others thought.

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

I love compelling short story collections so this one is going on my list!

Thanks for being a part of the tour. I'm featuring your review on TLC's Facebook page today.

traveler said...

This sounds captivating. What a lovely giveaway. Favorite short story book would be The Mark Twain Collection. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

petite said...

This book interests me greatly. Many thanks. My favorite book of short stories is the collected short stories of Louis L'Amour. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

Lisa said...

Even the stories set in the U.S. gave me such a feeling for the people of Vietnam and their history. Loved some of these stories!

Anonymous said...

These stories sound so good! Right now my favorite book of short stories is probably No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July.

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