Book Review #16

To Dance the Beginning of the World

By Dr. Steven Hayward   

With this book, I was not liking it at first. 

  Short story collections always seemed a bit chaotic to me, with very little to really enjoy. Dr. Hayward, however, has now proven me wrong. Twelve stories that feel like they are from the same character even though they aren't proved me wrong. 

  You can definitely tell Dr. Hayward really took the time to select the stories he would use for this collection. Each story is wonderful on its own, but having all twelve in a collection really drives home the title of the novel. If you have never heard that phrase before, I would suggest you do a little googling and see what you find. Or just read the collection. You can get a bit more of an understanding that way. 

  I will admit, my favorite stories are "Aunt Daisy's Secret Sauce for Hamburgers," "The Obituary of Philomena Beviso," and "To Dance the Beginning of the World." Without really spoiling it for those that are curious about why, it's the choice of writing style. Because anyone can write a short story if they wanted to, but writing a short story in this style is inspirational to me. One day, I may write a story this way, but it will take some time to get it the way I like it. 

  For those who are skeptical about enjoying a short story collection, I get it. But I would honestly suggest giving this collection a try before you dismiss this kind of book entirely. It really does show the joy of writing short stories, and how engrossed you can become in a world outside of your own for a little while.