Scott Ely

These are hard stories. The characters are engaging, the material is engaging, and the plots are compelling...but the reality of them is, very simply, hard.

Ely's subjects are so believable as to be swept from real life, whether dealing with small-time con-men, individuals who can't tell their past from their present, or men who've been so affected by life as to feel that it is, practically, unlivable. And in each manifestation of life, the stories are harshly real--too simple to seem fictional, and with no easy answers.

There's no question that Ely has mastered the form of the short story and is a talented writer. At the same time, I'm torn as to whether or not to recommend them. Well-written as they are--beautifully written as they are, in fact--they are hard to enjoy, too much like the simple tragedies that we know from our own lives and neighbors and wanderings. I'm not sure they're something I'd ever want to read about, so much as things which I want to escape from.

For realistic short stories, these are masterful renditions, and you'll enjoy them. That's as much as I can say, I'm afraid.… (más)

This book is set in New Orleans and the surrounding areas, which is near where I am from, so I was intrigued by the book. The post-apocalyptic story line is reminiscent of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but on a grander scale. The language, the culture, the people -- all are true to the New Orleans area.
Right away I was struck by the simplistic nature of the writing. This is Scott Ely's first book in the Young Adult genre, which I could easily guess from what the writing lacked. One major thing that bothered me throughout the book was Ely's habit of "telling" instead of "showing." He repeatedly made statements in the book like this: "She went on to tell him that their house was close by, on high ground, and they thought they could live upstairs." (page 38) Why couldn't Ely have written this out in dialogue. This kind of writing is littered throughout the text, and it left me feeling like I had been shorted a proper book. At a little over 200 pages in length, this book was too short for my expectations. I normally love dystopia, but this one was disappointing.
The main character Stephen was a likable character, but he seemed to be both extremely lucky and a kind of talisman for death. I understand that the conditions of the area that Stephen was traveling through were extremely dangerous with very limited resources, but did just about every single person that Stephen came across have to die? That strikes me as overkill, pardon the pun.
I also did not understand the ending. If there really was as much flooding as the radio continuously announced, then Stephen would have needed to travel much further than he did to find dry ground.
I gave the book three stars because I really liked the premise of the book, though it fell short of my expectations.… (más)