This is a book of short stories taken from the things I
saw and heard in my childhood in the factory town of Ansonia in southwestern
Connecticut.
Sal, the desperate and depressed divorcee in Things
Change, changes his life in Lunch Hour when asks the
waitress for a date and she accepts. (Which we learn in Closing Time, the last
story in the book) In The Arranged Time, Thisby is given the option
of change and whether she takes it or, we don’t know. The death of Greta’s
husband in A Matter of Time has led her to the diner and into
the waiting arms of the outgoing and loveable Gabe.
http://www.amazon.com/Short-Stories-Small-William-Tuohy/dp/1517270456/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444164878&sr=1-1&keywords=short+stories+from+a+small+town
REVIEWS FOR "SHORT STORIES FROM A SMALL TOWN"
The Valley Lives
By Marion Marchetto, author of The Bridgewater Chronicles
on October 15, 2015
Short Stores from a Small Town is set in The Valley
(known to outsiders as The Lower Naugatuck Valley) in Connecticut. While the
short stories are contemporary they provide insight into the timeless qualities
of an Industrial Era community and the values and morals of the people who live
there. Some are first or second generation Americans, some are transplants, yet
each takes on the mantle of Valleyite and wears it proudly. It isn't easy for
an author to take the reader on a journey down memory lane and involve the
reader in the life stories of a group of seemingly unrelated characters. I say
seemingly because by book's end the reader will realize that he/she has done
more than meet a group of loosely related characters.
We meet all of the characters during a one-day time
period as each of them finds their way to the Valley Diner on a rainy autumn
day. From our first meeting with Angel, the educationally challenged man who
opens and closes the diner, to our farewell for the day to the young waitress
whose smile hides her despair we meet a cross section of the Valley population.
Rich, poor, ambitious, and not so ambitious, each life proves that there is
more to it beneath the surface. And the one thing that binds these lives
together is The Valley itself. Not so much a place (or a memory) but an almost
palpable living thing that becomes a part of its inhabitants.
Let me be the first the congratulate author John William
Tuohy on a job well done. He has evoked the heart of The Valley and in doing so
brought to life the fabric that Valleyites wear as a mantle of pride. While set
in a specific region of the country, the stories that unfold within the pages
of this slim volume are similar to those that live in many a small town from
coast to coast.
By Sandra Mendyk
Just read "Short Stories from a Small Town,"
and couldn't put it down! Like Mr. Tuohy's other books I read, they keep your
interest, especially if you're from a small town and can relate to the lives of
the people he writes about. I recommend this book for anyone interested in
human interest stories. His characters all have a central place where the
stories take place--a diner--and come from different walks of life and wrestle
with different problems of everyday life. Enjoyable and thoughtful.
I loved how the author wrote about "his people"
By kathee
A touching thoughtful book. I loved how the author wrote
about "his people", the people he knew as a child from his town. It
is based on sets of time in the local diner, breakfast , lunch and dinner, but
time stands still ... Highly recommend !
WONDERFUL book, I loved it!
By John M. Cribbins
What wonderful stories...I just loved this book.... It is
great how it is written following, breakfast, lunch, dinner, at a diner. Great
characters.... I just loved it....