"Forgetting English" by Midge Raymond

Reviewed by Poppy J.

Midge Raymond will soon become one of your favorite authors.

Readers will get more than just a lift from Forgetting English. The venues are unfamiliar, with stories from Tonga, Taipei, Hawaii, the Serengeti and even Antarctica. The names are also not within our realm of imagination, with characters, animals and places tagged like nothing we have ever read before. But the author uses simple themes to get and keep our attention, and the book is one that once picked up, will be hard to put down.

Even for people who consider themselves world travelers, this collection of short stories has a few exotic surprises. The author is able to describe and detail relationships, from the bottom up and from the inside out. The characters are easily seen as if a person living the life, in real time, would see them. The conversations between the characters are real too, and are reminiscent of conversations we have all had at one time or another. The themes are clearly thought out, with many of them highlighting a person who has to live with herself, and coming to terms with what image others think she has become.

Many of the stories leave the reader with more questions to ask, than are actually answered. Most of the stories deserve a sequel, since after reading them, we always want more information. For anyone considering reading this book, I suggest that it is read the way you eat your favorite meal. Stop to consider how lucky you really are after each tasty morsel. And once finished, revel in the memory of how great it was while you were eating it.

For more information, please visit Midge Raymond's website.

After a decade of working in several NYC law departments and teaching, Poppy decided she enjoyed writing full-time. She currently works as a freelance writing consultant, and lives with her husband and sons on the East Coast.

This book was provided free of any obligation by EWU Press Marketing. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.