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Rating: 
Summary: How short stories should be written
Review: As given in the title, this is a collection of short stories. The period covered is from World War 2 to the present day and also spans the genres of romance, crime and life. The thread running through most of them is whisky and the price of over indulgence, ultimately alcoholism. Most of the stories have a 'twist' which is usually unexpected, thus refreshing.
The first title, 'Gulf' is a tale of our times. A young American lass puts a message in a bottle as part of a class project and years later it fetches up on a wild highland beach in Scotland. What develops is both a charming and ironical story made more so by the use of dialect. This, at no time, compromises understanding and the lilt and cadence is implicit in the reading. If you have ever visited the Highlands of Scotland, you'll find this akin to a return trip.
"Orra Loon" tells the poignant story of a young orphan's search for an identity in an unjust world.
'Bonny in Black' relates the story of John, an adolescent low in self-esteem who nevertheless accomplishes much by diligence as an apprentice cooper then as he reaches adulthood, marries and settles with Mary. Becoming too fond of the product of his work and at odds with Mary's family, he resolves his difficulties in an ultimately destructive way. In this story you'll find the characterisation drawn very finely. Bruce has the knack of sketching with economy, no extraneous puff and every word counting.
In 'Tarradale's Option', rural life in Scotland comes to the fore with this tale of poaching, peat, love and gentle revenge. Written in low key style, the last line comes as a shock, yet provokes laughter. Oh, how cruel!
With 'Insulated Conductor', Bruce moves to London and to a 'fly-boy with street cred.' who works as an inspector hunting down fraud by employees for London Transport buses. Here, I'd guess the author knows the job since his description of people, attitudes, routes and scams is spot on. Romance gets in the way of the job but how is Gina 'creaming' London Transport? I'll leave you to find out; the lady's ingenious.
Still in London, 'Potholes and Speed' brings Duncan who is trying to build up his road haulage company and avoid any crooked associations. For self-starters in this business, it's always difficult. 'It fell off the back of a lorry' has been a cliché since they were invented. Again, Bruce's ear for dialogue and dialect comes to the fore; he has the argot in all the right sequences. 'Guys and Dolls' it ain't, this is realspeak, to be heard on the streets of the capital anywhere. Does Duncan escape? Find out.
More of Duncan in 'Dodgy Night Out.' Cleverly observed, this is a vignette of how normal people react outside the 'boom and bang' of Hollywood treatments.
'Friendly Fire' is set in Jersey; Although Jersey is part of the United Kingdom, it's still an island of 'ex-pats' a kind of miniature 'Happy Valley' where sun, sex, adultery and money all contribute to the melee and can lead to a 'crime passionel'. A hotpot of mistaken motives and deeds, with a kick at the end.
Don't get friendly with Jim, the 'Fixer'. This is a health warning. A truly creepy and sinister story that would have delighted Poe, if he'd been around today. This is a particular gem because it's very difficult in a short story to convey the ideas and emotions propelling the plot. Bruce achieves this, far more than adequately, by crafting each word and wasting none.
With 'Receiver' we're back in London and listening to a conversation between an older and younger woman. It isn't until the last few sentences it becomes clear the dialogue you've read is full of reverses and euphemisms for what is really happening. An amusing tale of a biter, bit.
'The Bookies Runner' is a period piece, which describes the activities of a man, with hopes for the future, who collects bets to back horses, dogs or whatever is running.
'Jerusalem' starts at a drying out clinic for people with addictions.. Group therapy is not 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. More a meeting of bewildered individuals wondering why they're watching a video in Welsh language with sub-titles and doing exercises more fitted to a school of drama. From 'Jerusalem', Blake's immortal song, Bruce extrapolates the story of laughing Mary and wealthy Bartholomew and the subliminal meaning which for them, becomes a truism.
'My Brother's Keeper,' is about two lonely boys growing up in an orphanage. The narrator becomes a clerk in a whisky distillery and both young men by seventeen years of age are hardened drinkers. Sometimes living together in Scotland and London, in between adventures alone, the attitudes of alcoholics to non-drinkers are succinctly described. As is the effect upon marriage and families; this is achieved in very few words that say it all. The final sentence will have great resonance for anyone who has been, or is, alcoholic.
This is Bruce's first collection of short stories and it's an achievement. He's produced a work that, whilst having a common thread, is very varied in content and interest thus never dull. It isn't full of pyrotechnics, but beautifully and thoughtfully crafted and true to those he writes about. These are people who will never find their 'fifteen minutes of fame' and probably wouldn't want to. The whole work makes the point that so-called ordinary people are anything but, once you go beyond appearance. If you were to describe the book in musical terms, it would definitely fall into the 'Country' category, but without the whine of self-pity.
My recommendation is buy it. If you're a reader you won't be disappointed and if you are also an aspiring writer of short stories, you have a book of templates of how these should be written.
Dione M. Coumbe. July 2003.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ Enjoyment!
Review: Eddie Bruce (sole author of this book, btw) will take you into the lives of totally believable people...they are real! You will laugh and cry and become involved with each story and character. Mr. Bruce writes of life that many of us never experience, fortunately; yet we can experience through his words, and be understanding. I consider this a 'must-read' for everyone interested in learning more about people of the world...especially the 'unfortunate' who become the 'fortunate'.
Rating:
Summary: How short stories should be written
Review: If you're a reader who won't settle for commonplace, someone looking for a little more than the everyday run-of-the-mill fiction, you simply must read this. The themes for the selected short stories in this anthology are sublime examples that translate well for anyone capable of reading between the lines; someone who doesn't feel the need to be hit over the head with either poignancy, humor or pathos.The author's experiences arrive full-frontal, but sneak in through the side door. It's cheeky in some spots, ethereal in others, but always balanced with a tongue-in-cheek wit that allows it to transcend without feeling the need to preach. I wish it were twice as long as it is, and I can't wait for the next edition. Oh, and I might add... you don't have to be British to understand it, either-- I'm as American as apple pie. Bravo!
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Summary: A superb storyteller with a wealth of stories to tell.
Review: Reviewer: David Gardiner from London, United Kingdom. 01.10.03
Written with a wonderful sense of irony and dry humour, acclaimed and emulated by fellow-writers for their technical perfection, these stories will reduce you successively to shocked silence and helpless laughter. Mr. Bruce can find humour in tragedy and a vein of sadness just below the surface of comedy. These could only have been written by someone who had lived a long life in the role of an outsider, and who understands the uneasy truce that defines the end point in the battle against alcoholism. A truly riveting and unforgettable journey through the soul of a superb storyteller with a wealth of stories to tell.
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