Simplify - Tod Goldberg

This is a collection of twelve short stories.

*Each story is dark and the majority of them revolve around death.

*Each story delivers either a deep life lesson or a view of another person's life that will leave you pondering things that you have probably never thought of.

I am amazed at how well the author, Tod Goldberg, understands, and is able to portray, other people's thoughts and feelings. He tells the story of a messed up child, a suicidal man, a wealthy man with an empty life, a child growing into an adult, a dead child, and the brother of a killer. These are just some of the people that Mr. Goldberg takes the shape of.

Each story is written in a unique fashion. Within the first page, you will be sucked in by the unfolding of a foreign life that each story promises.

Some of the other reviews label it as sinister or evil. I didn't see it as either. Sorrowful? Maybe. Dark? Definitely. Sinister or evil? Not so much.

I'm not a big short story fan. I like stories that I can sink my teeth into for a period of time. I am the kind of person that never wants a good story to end. That being said, I loved this book. The stories allowed me to step into someone else's existence.

The stories make you dig deep and think.

Simplify - Tod Goldberg