Review of Tales of the Seventies

[Lauren Hanna]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Tales of the Seventies" by David Done.]

---

2 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Tales of the Seventies is a collection of seven short stories and one novella written by David Done. This compilation of tales was composed between 1970 and 1975; however, they were not finalized and published until the author's retirement. A majority of the stories take place in San Francisco, California. There are many topics throughout these tales; some include love, suicide, theft, fraud, drug abuse, and mental illness.

The first short story is named Point to Point After. The author writes about a husband, Zhen, and his wife, Leila. Leila is ill, so Zhen visits the doctor to obtain her test results. Unfortunately, Leila has a tumor and will suffer from memory loss for the remainder of her life. Given Leila’s diagnosis, this couple, who are very much in love, is terrified of what the future will hold. Point to Point After is an interesting story, and I liked the way the tale ended.

Although Tales of the Seventies is a work of fiction, the author was quite honest about the source of his inspiration in writing the novella. Jeff, the main character, is based upon an actual incident in David Done’s life. Having to think about that troublesome time to write the novella must have been difficult. I admire his strength in being able to accomplish that. I found these short stories to be entertaining and quick to read. I appreciated how the ending of the novella came full circle to the beginning of the book.

Unfortunately, not all the stories had proper endings. For instance, in the second short story titled Blind San Franciscans, just as the tale reached its peak, it ended. It stopped so abruptly that many questions remained unanswered. I wanted to know what happened next. Due to this, the Blind San Franciscans tale felt incomplete. Another negative aspect was the abundance of errors throughout the text.

The numerous mistakes disrupted the flow of reading. Several times the quotation marks were incorrectly placed, which made the sentence confusing. I had to read the text a couple of times to understand what the author communicated. Also, extending a few of the short stories to include an ending would be valuable. I was surprised the Blind San Franciscans story terminated in the middle of the tale. For these reasons, I rate Tales of the Seventies 2 out of 4 stars.

Some stories encompass violence, suicide, mental health, drug abuse, profanity, as well as sexual assault. Sensitive readers may find these subjects to be troublesome. I recommend this work of fiction to older teens and adults who want to learn what life looked like in the 1970s. Those who have a history with or enjoy San Francisco may also appreciate these short stories.

******
Tales of the Seventies
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Ruchi Raina]

This book seems very fascinating. Considering the theme, I suppose it's a very emotional tale. It must have been very difficult to write this book, as the author has mentioned that it's based on a true incident. Thanks for the intriguing review.

[Reader-247]

Sometimes, it is an artistic choice to leave open ends, however, I , just like you, dint like abrupt endings. Thanks for an informative review!

[Dimi1]

It seems like the author needs to seriously review the book to engage the readers. Thanks for an invaluable insight!