April | 2020 | Ad Librum Aeternam

Hello, folks!

As I'm perfecting my Spanish, I took a course in writing what is called "microrrelatos", a.k.a flash fiction. I enjoyed it greatly and figured out you might like reading my first story in Spanish—the first ever!

So, here goes (I'm sorry for those who can't read it, but I really wanted to share it in the hopes of a few enjoying it), y para todos mis amigos y todas mis amigas:

Espejismo

De no haber sido por ella, no hubiera viajado hasta allí. Melisina miró a su hermana y se impacientó

desde lo alto del montículo.

—¿Qué quería mostrarme, Ada? Mamá se preocupará.

—¡Mira! —dijo Ada, señalando a un animal.

Melisina volvió su mirada y vio al majestuoso león. Estaba tumbado sobre sus patas, como una esfinge. Su melena parecía suave, voluminosa y resplandeciente. El león estaba mirándolas con seriedad, como una estatua de mármol. Podría ver la arena alrededor de ellos y las pirámides. El calor fuerte sobre su piel. Melisina estiró el brazo y avanzó un paso hacia la bella bestia.

—¡Melisina! ¡Ada! Les dije que no vayáis al vecino.

Las niñas se sobresaltaron al oír la voz de su madre. Su madre estaba esperándoles en el balcón con las manos sobre sus caderas. Melisina echó un último vistazo a la criatura de su imaginación, después volvió a casa. Y la estatua de la esfinge siguió esperando al sueño de otra niña.

Digame lo que habéis pensado en ese microrrelato, por favor. 🙂 Espero que lo hubierais disfrutado.

¡Hasta la próxima, mis amigos!

Amazon.ca

Amazon.com

Goodreads

Genre: Fiction, Poetry

Pages: 162

ISBN: 9780578448237

ASIN: B07NVS6V2B

Format: Paperback, eBook (Kindle)

Publication date: February 7th, 2019

Publisher: Self-Published

Type: Poetry collection, Short story collection

*I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. No compensation has been given and I write this book review willingly. A big thanks to dear Michal Yaccoby, Shmuel Yaccoby, and BookTasters!*

Introduction:

I was intrigued by the concept of words running amok through poems and stories, accompanied by what seemed to be cute drawings. So I decided to give this book a try.

It turned out to be quite unique and an enjoyable read despite its few flaws.

Let’s go over it together, shall we?

The Blurb:

Written words leave their text and become alive. Each has its own expressive face and mysterious personality. Amusing short stories and poems with lessons for those who are forever young. Seasoned with surprising word characters: Stucker and Unstucker, who deal with being stuck in life; the difference between an ambitious one who likes TooBee and another who prefers NotTooBee; the funny virtual MaxiMax-Axe who breaks Box to activate Think-Outside-Box; the Scratch each of us carry through life; Known and None particles that handle our body and Mind within Atoms; the revenge journey of Cancer Cell; and much more. Written by Professor of Medicine, Shmuel Yaccoby (Ph.D.), and illustrated by his wife, Michal Yaccoby. They live in USA with their three children.

The Positive Sides:

For starters, this book is greatly original, unique. It was a surprise with each page and I couldn’t wait to keep reading to find out what drawing and topic was on the next page! Creativity and imagination run wild in this book, that’s for sure. The drawings of the words are so cute and adorable. Plus, these drawings and the play on words are all linked to the actual text in very clever ways. Honestly, I loved the illustrations and their names (and the twists on those!). Also, I liked the Capitalization (see what I did there?) of the names of the drawings/words; it makes you think they’re even more important than usual, just like people. And you start to recognize them as the stories go on like characters, which is a nice bonus.

Moreover, I really enjoyed how the poems could go on for a few pages, like a slow-going story to savour. The humour is fun to read and sprinkled here and there and everywhere.

I must say the last few pages were WOW. The mix of each of the words/drawings telling a story with a small sentence, all in line for a bigger one, just makes for a great and surprising experience. It left me with a sense of amazement and deep contemplation about what had been said, along with my own life. This was the highlight of the book, certainly!

The Negative Sides:

While this book is entertaining and original, I had the displeasure of sometimes stumbling over verses that are confusing—one can’t grasp their meaning quite easily. Even though they make you think, I’m not sure they’re meant to be confusing to the frowning point (which I did a few times). In the first poems/stories, the wording is strange here and there, which doesn’t help understanding.

Moreover, what bothered me was the overall lack of depth in the poems/stories. There are several with depth, such as the one about Atoms (capitalized in respect to the word running free in the book) and the one about Cancer, but the rest is very light and seems superficial. I don’t mind either, but doing both in the same book that’s advertised as “funny” and “for those young at heart”, is kind of against the point. One must choose between the two, and in this case for the promotion of the book, I think more light poems/stories would fit better.

Lastly, I found several poems/stories to be a bit too much on the religious side, which doesn’t fit the lightness of the book. I don’t think religion belongs in a light and funny read, unless you make jokes about it, but this is not the case. However, I greatly enjoyed the medical poems; they were both highly amusing and informative, coming from a Professor of Medicine.

In Conclusion:

This book was a wild, unique and informative ride, though it came with a few points to improve in my opinion. For all these reasons, I give Face Your Word by Shmuel Yaccoby & Michal Yaccoby a rating of 3.5 out 5! I recommend it to all types of readers, and mostly to those enjoying twists on formats, poetry and humour! Overall, if you’re looking for a unique reading experience, this is the book for you.

If you want to learn more about the author, you can follow him on his Twitter account. You can also add Face Your Word to your bookshelves on Goodreads.