Review by Kaushiki Parihar -- Tales of the 70's

[Kaushiki Parihar]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Tales of the 70's" by David Done.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Each series tells a story, each is an episode from old mythology. The Tale of the 70’s by David Done is a collection of seven short stories and a novella that tells the life of people in the 70’s.

The author raises a lot of issues and struggles of people in the ’70s like homelessness, gambling, suicide, and drug abuse. ‘Point to Point After’ is a touching story about two people in love while ‘Blind San Franciscans’ is a tale about the fraud of a charity. ‘The Cat Burglars’ is the funniest of all depicting the adventures of two thieves stealing a cat. Very wisely written ‘The Three Card Shuffle’ tells about two card players deceiving tourists. Even though reading the stories was fun but there was also something disheartening about them.

The other half of the book, the novella: Yesteryears Snows is a story about Jeff who uses heavy drugs. He is ill and the people around him are oblivious to his pain as he becomes more and more delusional. It is divided into smaller parts that don’t connect at all. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the novella and it disappointed me a lot that I almost didn’t want to finish reading the book.

The most positive aspect of the book was the author’s unique style of writing and intriguing stories. Well-written dialogues and emotions of the characters were wonderfully conveyed. The stories were based on the real-life and experiences of the author and the people around him. Some stories have despondent endings while some endings were left for the readers to conclude.

The text was sometimes too dull and explanatory with unnecessary details that I find myself distracted from the story. Some parts didn’t connect with the story that I can’t figure out what was going on and lost track. Another reason for my displeasure was the presence of erotic scenes as well as sexual violence and sexualization of characters. There was frequent profanity which was disgusting for me.

So overall, I liked some short stories but the novella was not at all my cup of tea but after reading the introduction I deeply sympathize with the author’s intent of writing the book, so, after long and careful consideration, I decided to rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. The book was well edited. Young and sensitive readers should proceed with caution but if you like to read short stories; I think you can give this book a try. Who knows there might be a story which fascinates you.

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Tales of the 70's
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[markodim721]

I think the story of stealing the ocelot is definitely the best part of the book.

[Kaushiki Parihar]

I think the story of stealing the ocelot is definitely the best part of the book.

Yes, that story is definitely humourous and that's why everyone likes it. But, I really liked the stories Three Card Shuffle and Blind San Franciscans. Both of them left me awe-struck.

[Ruchi Raina]

It's true that profanities and sexual content, sometimes, tend to ruin the whole reading experience for the reader. And being unable to decipher what's going on is frustrating too. Thanks for the insightful review.

[Kaushiki Parihar]

It's true that profanities and sexual content, sometimes, tend to ruin the whole reading experience for the reader. And being unable to decipher what's going on is frustrating too. Thanks for the insightful review.

I agree with you. Too much profanity and sexual content ruined my reading experience of some nice stories. Thank you for the comment.

[Muskan Upadhyaya]

I would love to give this book a try, I m not much into short stories but your review has done an amazing job in convincing my mind to give it a try
Thank you for the beautiful review!

[Medhansh Bhardwaj]

I think the author could have done a better job by using less profanity. The topic is really important though. Drug abuse is certainly demanding more attention these days.