A Bearer of Divine Revelation: New and Selected Stories

Rating:
Summary: Beauty From Ashes
Review: Here is one of the true artists and soul revealers of our time. If you haven't been lucky enough to read 'A Slight Momentary Affliction' (which by the way was nominated for the Pulitzer) or 'A Slow Soft River,' please read his latest triumph and grant yourself a window into the soul of a man who has known unimaginable suffering and come out on the side of love. His craft of touching the heart through the medium of story is unmatched. Haunting, full of surprises and unexpected hopes. Two thumbs up!

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, Intense
Review: I live in the same town as Lawrence Dorr, know him personally, and have studied writing under him. His new collection, beautifully written, is a joy to read. He is a master of the short story. His life experiences hit the reader between the eyes and will be long remembered.

I recommend Lawrence Dorr to anyone who cares about intense and brilliant writing, as well as to those with interests in questions of faith and the travails of Europeans during and since World War II. Lawrence uniquely merges these three areas.

Rating:
Summary: Stories Reveal Journey Of Faith
Review: These 15 stories by Lawrence Dorr are much like stations of the cross. Each deals with an event in the life of the narrator, an émigré from Hungary after World War II and now a non-hyphenated American. Each story mirrors a world of suffering and loneliness but where love and friendships redeem. Dorr's belief is that God's grace is sufficient even in a violent and unpredictable world, thus his narratives, whether about war or deprivation as in "The Binge" and "The Barbershop on Kartner Strasse" or intimate family activities such as in "Lazarus" and "The Angel of His Presence," bring joy, messages of hope, and spiritual illumination. Dorr's themes shine amid poignant details about his life and history. Dorr also engages readers with plots that surprise and with subtle and sometimes humorous observations about human nature. His vocabulary and sentences are so carefully selected and crafted, his prose is a joy to read.