Reviews for The Last Ugly Person: And Other Stories

The average rating for The Last Ugly Person: And Other Stories based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-12-24 00:00:00 Jordan Jordann I have read and greatly appreciated most of the novels by Roger Thomas. But this collection of short stories impressed me even more than the novels. Four incredibly powerful and moving stories. Full review below. . . . I have read and greatly appreciated most of the novels by Roger Thomas. But this collection of short stories impressed me even more than the novels. Four incredibly powerful and moving stories. Each story had an immediate impact upon me. And After racing through the book, I went back and reread it at a slower pace. Of with a collection of short stories there is a favorite or a least favorite. That was not the case with the four in this collection. The stories are: The Last Ugly Person Numaris The Purging I Have Slaved for You The stories are very different from each other. And could easily be classified as different genres. Starting with a futuristic dystopian tale, an epic military story, an allegory reminiscent to The Pilgrim’s Progress, and concluding with a micro fiction western story. For those of you who skip over the forwards, in the Foreword Ralph McInerny states: “Very practical and very theoretical people are often impatient with the fact that seemingly mature adults spend a good deal of their time following the activities of imaginary agents, reading stories about events that never really happened to characters who do not exist. We all have moments when we sympathize with this Scrooge-like reaction to fiction, but such moments pass, our good sense is restored, and we turn with eager anticipation to such stories as these by Roger B. Thomas. If the case of the consumer of fiction is questioned, what must be said of the writer who labors over his stories and clearly regards what he is doing with the utmost seriousness?” He also declares: “All this is a pretty heavy way of putting before the reader the remarkable fictions of Roger B. Thomas. Any writer develops a distinctive voice, an angle of vision, a way of showing us who and what we are. There are techniques of story telling which show up more or less alike in all stories. Nowadays a bewildering number of people who have mastered those techniques and can produce serviceable facsimiles of stories. Without a distinctive voice or vision, however, mere mastery of the technique is minimally satisfying. I think Roger B. Thomas has a new and distinctive voice.” And I completely agree with him. Roger Thomas has incredible skill and gift in the art of storytelling. The stories vary greatly in length. From one at 1000 words, to a novella. Another as McInerny stated could be a short novel. Each of the stories are masterfully written. If Thomas’s short stories are this well written, I can only hope he publishes another collection of them. There are lots of fiction I read that I know I will never read again. This collection even though I have read it twice, I have left it on my device to circle back and read it again in another few months. This is an excellent collect of short stories. If you enjoy Roger’s other works I am sure you will enjoy this. And if you have not read any of the novels this will show the amazing breadth of his skill. So pick it up I am sure you will enjoy most of not all of the stories! Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Roger Thomas. Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2019 Catholic Reading Plan!

Review # 2 was written on 2011-05-07 00:00:00 Amanda Rhodes This book contains 4 stories. I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of the first story. I just don't "get it," I suppose. I can understand the message, but it didn't inspire me. It actually put me off the book for a while, and if I hadn't had to finish reading the book for our book club meeting this morning, I might not have picked it up again to finish reading the other three stories and that would have been a sad thing indeed. Those other three stories were amazing and taught me a great deal about God. I especially loved Numaris, and almost cried twice reading it. Perhaps that's just because I'm a Navy girl and have a soft spot for the military. These stories were far deeper than I had anticipated and were a true treat to read.